Jan. 12, 2006
Baton Rouge, La. – It is no secret that No. 3 LSU is one of the best teams in the country, and the Tigers showed why in claiming a convincing 79-46 win over South Carolina in front of 4,113 fans at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Thursday night.
With the loss, Carolina dipped to 9-6 overall and 0-3 in the Southeastern Conference, with LSU staying perfect at 14-0 overall and 3-0 in the SEC. With the win, the Tigers extended their home winning streak to 24 games. LSU’s last loss at home came during the 2003-04 season.
Carolina was led in the scoring column by Stacy Booker and Lauren Simms, with Booker going for 15 and Simms adding 13. Reigning National Player of the Year Seimone Augustus and very large running mate Sylvia Fowles led the charge for LSU, with Augustus scoring 22 points and Fowles dominating inside with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
The Tigers went into halftime with a 38-24 edge thanks in large part to the fact that they punished the Gamecocks when they turned the ball over in the first half, forcing Carolina to commit 13 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of the game that resulted in a 16-3 LSU advantage in points off turnovers. The Tigers also owned an 11-0 advantage in second-chance points and an 18-4 edge in points in the paint during the first half.
It was more of the same in the second half, but with LSU playing better defense. South Carolina did not score its first points of the second half until Stacy Booker’s teardrop layup over the outstretched arms of Fowles at the 12:58 mark.
The Gamecocks had no answer for Fowles or Augustus in the first half, with both players going into the locker room with 13 points. Hot shooting from the perimeter made Simms Carolina’s leading scorer in the first half with 10 points. Fowles also grabbed eight rebounds (five offensive) in the first half.
Thursday’s contest matched two of the top defensive teams in the SEC, as the Gamecocks and Tigers ranked one-two in the league in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal percentage defense.
The Gamecocks return to action when they host No. 23 Vanderbilt at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Colonial Center. The game will be broadcast live on 1320 WISW-AM Radio, with Andy Demetra handling play-by-play and Robin Muller providing analysis.
