The LSU women’s basketball team reached the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament before losing to No. 3 South Carolina 74-54 at the Verizon Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Saturday.
It marked LSU’s (17-13, 10-7 SEC) third loss to South Carolina (29-2, 16-1 SEC) this season, losing each contest by at least 20 points. But Saturday may have been LSU’s best game against the top-seeded SEC team this season, as it led throughout the majority of the matchup and was up by as many as 11 points.
LSU coach Nikki Caldwell said after the game that her team played a productive first half, but highlighted its youth and needs to learn from the experience.
“Our game plan in the first half was very efficient and disruptive,” Caldwell said in a postgame news conference. “In the second half, we got away from being that aggressive team with our defensive play, and South Carolina, being one of the best teams in the country, took advantage of that. This team, my young team, they’ve got to learn and grow from this and understand that you have to play with that same intensity for 40               minutes.”
After a double-bye to start the tournament, LSU handily defeated No. 18 Texas A&M 71-65, never trailing in the game. Similar to when they played against South Carolina, the Lady Tigers got out to a quick start, beginning the game on a 13-0 run while shooting nearly 53 percent from the field in the first half.
The game was also similar in that LSU took its foot off the gas in the second half, allowing the Aggies to shoot 46.9 percent from the field and 60 percent from 3-point range in the period.
Caldwell said her team allowed Texas A&M to gain momentum and acknowledged its second half issues.
“In the second half, we struggled a little bit,” Caldwell said. “But we wanted to make an attempt at the basket, so we talked about really penetrating, getting in the seam so we could get ourselves to the free‑throw line. Offensively, they got on the glass, got a lot of second and third opportunities. I felt as though that really changed the momentum and rhythm of the game in their favor.”
In the semifinal, the Lady Tigers held the Gamecocks to 27 points in the first half while also limiting the sixth-best scorer in the conference, junior guard Tiffany Mitchell, to no points in the first half.
LSU senior guard DaShawn Harden got off to a scorching start in the first half, scoring 17 points after shooting 5-for-5 from behind the 3-point line, but she scored only two points for the rest of the game.
Caldwell said she pushed her players to leave it all on the court and not blame anyone but themselves for the disappointment.
“I challenged the team to really not be afraid to be successful, to really not leave anything out there and don’t make excuses for the outcome of the game,” Caldwell said. “We fell short of our goal.”
LSU will know next week whether it makes the NCAA Tournament when the Division I Women’s Basketball Selection Show airs March 16 on ESPN. 
ESPN bracketology expert Charlie Creme currently has the Lady Tigers in the tournament as the 10th seed in the Greensboro, North Carolina, bracket. He also has six other SEC schools reaching the tournament.
You can follow Stanton Vignes on Twitter at @StanVignes_TDR.