The LSU women’s basketball team looks to extend its winning streak to five games when it travels to No. 1 South Carolina on Thursday at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.
LSU (14-9, 8-3 Southeastern Conference) is in its longest win streak of the season and looks to upset the top-ranked team in the country for what would be its most substantial win of the year. 
South Carolina (22-1, 10-0 SEC) saw its 22-game win streak snapped Monday, suffering its first loss of the season to No. 2 UConn. Now, the Gamecocks try to rebound at home against the surging Lady Tigers. 
It will be LSU’s second matchup of the season against the No. 1 team. The Lady Tigers fell short the first time around, losing 75-51 on Jan. 4 at the PMAC.
LSU coach Nikki Caldwell said her team is excited to play against such staunch competition.
“We’re excited about the challenge that we will be facing,” Caldwell said. “South Carolina is one of the best teams in the country. This gives us a chance to see how far we’ve grown from the first time we’ve played them in early January to now. I do feel as though we’re a better basketball team. We’ve been playing very tough on the defensive end.”
Both LSU and South Carolina played well on the defensive side of the ball throughout the year. Each team is holding its opponents to less than 60 points per game, with South Carolina ranked fifth in points allowed
per game at 51.6.
During the Lady Tigers’ win streak they have allowed 48.5 points per game and have broken into the top 15 teams nationally in steals per game with 11.6 per contest.
Regardless of how they’ve played recently, sophomore guard Jasmine Rhodes said the Lady Tigers will have to do things differently if they want to upset the best team in the country.
“I think we’re going to have to play our game,” Rhodes said. “They had us playing their game close to the end of the last game. They sped us up, they slowed us down. We have to play at our pace the whole game.”
When the Lady Tigers lost to the Gamecocks in early January, they were without star junior guard Danielle Ballard, who was still serving a suspension. With Ballard back in the lineup, LSU has won seven of its last nine games.
Caldwell said the addition of Ballard gives South Carolina more to look out for, come game time.
“[Ballard] makes a huge difference because that’s one more person that you’ve got to put on your scouting report,” Caldwell said. “You’ve got to recognize how good she is as a basketball player. More importantly, she’s a player that gives us calmness where certain teammates are now in their respective positions. They are not feeling that they have to carry the load. Obviously [sophomore guard] Raigyne Moncrief and [senior guard] DaShawn Harden in particular.”
Moncrief was named SEC Player of the Week on Feb. 9, after posting 14.3 points, seven rebounds, two steals and 1.7 assists per game in three games.
She said for LSU to prevail, it will have to increase their intensity while challenging the inside of the court.
“We have to outplay them and get hustle plays,” Moncrief said. “We’re not going to outjump them, so we have to box out. We have to put a body on somebody. We have to pursue the ball. We have to out work them. That’s the only way we are going to be able to come out with the win.” 
The Gamecocks are tied for first in the SEC standings and LSU is tied for third with No. 13 Mississippi State. 
You can reach Stanton Vignes on Twitter @stanvignes_TDR.