COLUMBIA, S.C. — Joyce Edwards scored 14 points and Sania Feagin added 12 points and seven rebounds, and No. 2 South Carolina beat fifth-ranked LSU 66-56 on Friday night to end the Tigers’ undefeated season.
The Gamecocks (19-1, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) won their 17th straight over LSU and all five since Kim Mulkey took over as Tigers coach. The showdown, delayed from a scheduled Thursday night prime-time slot due a winter storm, had all the drama typical of meetings between the teams that have won the past three national titles.
Aneesah Morrow had 15 points and 16 rebounds. It was her 93rd career double-double, breaking a tie with Oregon’s Jillian Alleyne for the second most in Division I history. Flau’jae Johnson scored 13 points for LSU (20-1, 5-1).
South Carolina opened a 10-point lead in the third quarter, and LSU (20-1, 5-1) could not respond. The Tigers’ loss leaves No. 1 UCLA, the only team to beat South Carolina this season, as the country’s lone remaining unbeaten team.
South Carolina has won 69 straight games at home and 54 in a row in SEC regular-season games. The home win streak is tied with Tennessee (1991-96) for the longest streak in SEC history and is tied for the fourth longest in Division I history.
The Gamecocks held the Tigers to 5-for-20 shooting in the third quarter and 23-of-77 shooting (29.9%) for the game. It was the first time in 126 games under Mulkey that LSU shot below 30% from the field. Johnson, the Tigers’ leading scorer, had only two points in the second half.
Takeaways
LSU: The Tigers have won a national title in Mullkey’s first three seasons, but they have lost all five matchups to South Carolina in that span. South Carolina is the only program against which Mulkey has multiple losses in her LSU tenure.
South Carolina: There’s little question who’s in charge of the SEC as the Gamecocks defeated four straight ranked league opponents.
Key moment
Te’Hina Paopao had just made a basket for a 41-35 lead when South Carolina forced two quick turnovers that turned into an easy basket to extend its third-quarter lead.
Key stat
South Carolina had 13 steals and 11 blocks against LSU.
Up next
LSU hosts Texas A&M on Sunday, and South Carolina plays at Tennessee on Monday.
Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.
This post was originally published on this site