Friday night’s much-anticipated game between South Carolina and LSU at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina was not, in this writer’s opinion, a particularly good game. Some players had individual good games, such as Aneesah Morrow and Flau’Jae Johnson for LSU and Joyce Edwards and Sania Feagin for South Carolina, but overall, there was nothing particularly outstanding as far as the overall game was concerned.
There was a fundamental difference between the teams. LSU came out trying to prove something. There was, as there has been before, talk of LSU’s fairly easy non-conference schedule. So to have a good showing against South Carolina was paramount. But whatever the reason, LSU played a disconnected and unfocused game with unnecessary turnovers, very poor shooting, and bad fouls. The Gamecocks held LSU to a dismal 29.9% shooting, going 23-77 and 3-14 from three.
South Carolina did not play well in the first half. When it looked as though they were going to handily take the first quarter, LSU found a way to climb back into it and ended the first quarter up one at 22-21.
Things fell apart for both teams in the second quarter, with the Gamecocks taking it 12-8. This quarter was where the game took a decidedly lackluster turn, and with a halftime score of 33-30 in favor of South Carolina, it was unclear who might emerge as the winner.
What the first half showed was that neither team was locked in on playing to win. Perhaps South Carolina was self-conscious about what a win would mean rather than focus on simply winning. LSU just looked scattered, with no real direction.
South Carolina Came Alive in the Second Half Versus LSU
In the second half of the game, South Carolina came out playing to win. Even though the scoring remained relatively low, the Gamecocks played more like the defending champions, focusing on the game at hand rather than any external noise. LSU was still floundering and really couldn’t establish any kind of rhythm.
Even though the teams tied at 15 each in the fourth quarter the damage was done, and South Carolina came away with the win. I’m guessing that it was a win that Dawn Staley was particularly proud of. What Kim Mulkey saw in her team could not have been very reassuring, and I can only imagine what the LSU locker room was like after the game.
DUB. On to the next ? pic.twitter.com/SUiPFBYP4S
— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) January 25, 2025
South Carolina’s position in the rankings at the moment is contingent on what UCLA does going forward. It may cement their position as No. 2, but with Notre Dame, USC, LSU, UConn, and Texas in the mix, anything could happen. No doubt this loss with have an impact on LSU’s ranking next week.
For South Carolina, unless UCLA loses to Maryland, they’ll stay at No. 2. How vulnerable this loss makes LSU remains to be seen. Things do change in February, and with renewed urgency, LSU can still be a team to be reckoned with. So can every other team in the Top Ten. Some think the top four seeds are set. I don’t. We shall see.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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