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No. 24 Lady Tigers Drop Road Game to No. 7 Gamecocks

by Chase Wales
Women's Basketball at South Carolina - Highlights Women's Basketball at South Carolina - Audio Replay Game 26: Box Score - at South Carolina +0
No. 24 Lady Tigers Drop Road Game to No. 7 Gamecocks

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 24 LSU women’s basketball team had its three-game win streak snapped by the No. 7 South Carolina Gamecocks by a score of 57-48 at Colonial Life Arena Thursday.

The Lady Tigers fell to 18-8 (10-5 SEC) with the loss while South Carolina improved to 23-5 (12-3 SEC).

In a battle of senior leaders, Raigyne Louis led the Lady Tigers with 19 points, adding eight rebounds, three assists and six steals, while A’ja Wilson powered the defending national champions with 27 points and a career-high 24 rebounds.

Chloe Jackson pitched in with 16 points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals, while Ayana Mitchell added seven points and five rebounds.

South Carolina got off to a hot start, jumping out to an early 11-2 lead before the Tigers closed out the final few minutes of the first quarter on a solid run, trailing by only five points at the end of the first.

LSU narrowed the Gamecocks’ lead to one point to open the second quarter and the two teams traded scores back and forth fairly evenly. South Carolina never led by more than six points in the second quarter as the Lady Tigers were able to keep themselves within arm’s reach, trailing 28-23 at halftime.

Another strong stretch to open the third quarter drew LSU to within two points of South Carolina, but the Gamecocks countered with an 14-2 run to close out the quarter leading LSU 44-30 heading into the fourth.

The Lady Tigers refused to hand the game over, turning up the pressure defensively to start the fourth quarter, and scored ten unanswered points in just over two minutes to close South Carolina’s lead to 44-40.

South Carolina was able to recover from LSU’s pressing defense and settled down as four points was the closest LSU would get for the rest of the night. South Carolina closed the game out on an 11-6 run, resulting in a final score of 57-48.

The Lady Tigers took excellent care of the ball all game, turning it over just five times while forcing 14 South Carolina turnovers, leading to a 22-4 advantage over the Gamecocks in points scored off of turnovers.

LSU also had an outstanding 20-0 advantage in fast break points, by far the Lady Tigers’ largest margin of the season.

The Lady Tigers played tenacious defense, holding South Carolina to its second-lowest scoring total of the season, but struggled to find their shots offensively, shooting just 33 percent from the field.

The Lady Tigers will return to Baton Rouge for their final regular season game against Alabama at the Maravich Center on Sunday, February 25 at 2 p.m. CT. It will be Senior Day for Raigyne Louis. Louis will be recognized in pregame ceremonies.

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