Due to a winter storm, we had to wait a bit for this marquee matchup between the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks and the No. 5 LSU Tigers, but this game lived up to the hype.
South Carolina played a complete game and utilized their depth to eventually overwhelm LSU, prevailing 66-56.
Joyce Edwards led the way with 14 points off the bench, and Sania Feagin scored 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting to extend the Gamecocks’ home winning streak to 69 games. LSU’s trio of Aneesah Morrow, Mikaylah Williams and Flau’jae Johnson all played well, but it wasn’t enough to pull off the upset. Morrow, who had 15 points and a monster 16 rebounds, earned her 93rd-career double-double, giving her the second-most in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history.
The opening minutes were about as good as LSU could’ve hoped for. Morrow and Johnson got going early, and the Tigers opened up leading 14-9 with every starter scoring. South Carolina tried to settle things down, but LSU continued to dominate inside. For the game, the Tigers would outrebound the Gamecocks by 12.
LSU remained in the driver’s seat throughout much of the first quarter, but then Edwards made a pair of free throws, and after a Feagin jumper, the Tigers led by the slimmest of margins entering the second quarter….
