COLUMBIA, S.C. — Another SEC game for the LSU Lady Tigers just means another battle with another ranked opponent. This time the opponent for the No. 4 Lady Tigers will be the No. 16 South Carolina Lady Gamecocks at the new Carolina Center Thursday night at 6 p.m. CST. The radio broadcast will be available on the LSU Sports Network (WJHN, 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge) and on the Internet at www.LSUsports.net.
LSU is 18-1, 6-1 in the SEC after the Lady Tigers ended Georgia’s dominance in Baton Rouge with a 68-64 victory over the Lady Bulldogs on Sunday in Baton Rouge. UGA jumped out to a 13-4 lead before LSU used a 10-0 run to take the lead for the first time with 11:18 remaining in the first half. The Lady Tigers then took the lead for good with a 4:45 left in the first half and had as much as a 10-point lead in the second before Georgia fought back.
Seimone Augustus led the way with 24 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards, while Aiysha Smith added 17 points and five boards. LSU shot 33.9 percent from the floor, but connected on 26-of-30 from the free throw line and out rebounded Georgia, 43-36.
South Carolina is 16-4 overall and 4-3 in the SEC, winning back-to-back games over Florida and Kentucky. USC sits in a tie for fifth in the SEC. The Gamecocks are led by Susan Walvius in her sixth year as head coach. She owns an 88-74 record at South Carolina. Jocelyn Penn, the fine senior forward, leads USC with 25.6 points per game scoring average.
The game with South Carolina marks the third of four straight games against nationally ranked teams for the Lady Tigers. LSU defeated No. 18 Vanderbilt Jan. 26 and beat No. 18 Georgia last Sunday.
After playing South Carolina on Thursday, the Lady Tigers will be back on the road, facing No. 12 Mississippi State on Sunday. LSU has never played four straight ranked teams during the regular season, but did face four in a row at the end of the 1981-82 season, playing one in the regular season finale before playing three teams in the postseason.
Augustus comes into the game averaging 15.2 points a game, 17.3 points per game in SEC play. Doneeka Hodges and Temeka Johnson will join her at guards and Aiysha Smith and Ke-ke Tardy at the posts.
Johnson has not practiced the last two days a bit under the weather, but she is listed as probable to play on Thursday.
LSU leads the overall series, 11-3, with five straight wins. LSU is a 5-1 leader in games played in Columbia. Last year, the Lady Tigers upset then No. 9 South Carolina, 72-62, in Baton Rouge.