
Gamecocks Stay Perfect in SEC Play with 66-56 Win over LSU
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — 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, and Flau’jae Johnson added 13 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 only remaining unbeaten team.
South Carolina has won 69 straight at home and 54 in a row in SEC regular-season games.
The Gamecocks held the Tigers to 5-for-20 shooting in the third quarter. Johnson, LSU’s leading scorer, had just two points in the second half.
Notables
- The Gamecocks held the Tigers to just eight points in the second quarter, their lowest-scoring quarter of the season, limiting them to a season-low total (56 points).
- The South Carolina defense was strong, recording a team total of 13 steals for the fourth game this season and setting a season-high 11 blocked shots.
- MiLaysia Fulwiley played a key role in the Gamecocks first-half success, scoring all eight of her points during that stretch and recording three steals for the third time this season.
- Sania Feagin put up her seventh double-figure scoring game of the season with three blocks for the second consecutive game.
- Raven Johnson made her mark matching her season-high five steals and sparked the Gamecocks 8-0 third quarter run by scoring her first four points of the game
- Tessa Johnson tied her career-high two blocks and added nine points, including a clutch three-pointer in the second quarter to reclaim the lead for the Gamecocks.
- Joyce Edwards dominated the paint, finishing with 14 points, 10 of which came in a strong second-half performance.