LSU Lady Tigers Keep Pace With No. 1 South Carolina, Fall Just Short in 66-60 Loss

Kim Mulkey has program moving in positive direction at fast pace despite loss

Kim Mulkey and her LSU Tigers 13-game win streak comes to an end after falling to No.1 ranked South Carolina 66-60 Thursday night in the PMAC. 

The fight in this LSU team out the gate was remarkable, leading by 11 points in the first half, but was ultimately not enough as the Gamecocks offensive rebounds adding to extra possessions proved to be the difference maker.

A flurry of second chance buckets for the Gamecocks was too much for LSU to overcome with All-American Aliyah Boston owning the paint, totaling 19 points and 17 rebounds for South Carolina. Boston’s sheer strength and size bullied the Tigers bigs, just getting everything she wanted inside, scoring 14 of her 19 points in the second half.

Outrebounding LSU 48 to 24, the Gamecocks consistently got put back lay-ins throughout the second half, which opened up the guard play of this well-rounded squad to get going on the perimeter. Coming out the tunnel for the second half, South Carolina was a whole different team, dissecting this Tigers defense from all three levels.

“Before the game I said you better put on your big girl panties and rebound, and we tried,” Mulkey said. “That was the difference in the game. I knew that would be the difference in the game. That’s big girl basketball and they played their heart out. Great crowd. Sorry we didn’t win it, but we’ve come a long way.”

Wooden Award Watch List member Zia Cooke was impossible to stop. The leader of this Gamecocks unit racked up 17 points of her own, including the dagger with under a minute left to lift South Carolina to a win. The dynamic backcourt of South Carolina looked like a well-oiled machine Thursday, led by both Cooke and Destanni Henderson, who totaled 16 points of her own.

Kim Mulkey’s group held their own against the No. 1 ranked team in the country who already has statement victories over Connecticut, Stanford and NC State. Led by Khayla Pointer’s 22 points, 13 of which came in the first half, she proved why she was named a Preseason First-Team All-SEC member.

Pointer’s ability to get buckets in the blink of an eye and shake defenders off the dribble is what makes her virtually impossible to guard. Add in the way she gets others involved with her vision, she instantly becomes one of the most complete guards in the SEC.

Though tonight her performance came up just short, her effort and energy made the Gamecocks work defensively until the bitter end. Getting Alexis Morris into the mix, the tandem made for instant offense through much of the game, but just couldn’t get shots to fall late in the second half.

The Tigers struggles in the third quarter is what set the tone, with the Gamecocks coming out the tunnel unfazed by the scoreboard. It was Boston who took over the game in order to will this South Carolina team to victory, using every last bit of energy to put this team over the edge.

The fight of LSU against the No. 1 team in the country is remarkable. Coach Mulkey has this team energized and ready for battle each night they step on the floor and it’s only going to get better for this unit. Just 16 games into the Mulkey era, it’s hard not to imagine where this team will be once the NCAA tournament is knocking on the door.

The Tigers continue their rigorous SEC schedule Sunday against Auburn where they look to start a new win streak and show this conference they’ve arrived. Coach Mulkey and this squad have everything it takes to be a national championship contender as they prepare to rebound off Thursday night’s loss to South Carolina.

“We’re getting better and anybody that knows this conference knows it’s going to be a dog fight every single game, so all you can do is have a game plan and compete as best as you can,” senior guard Khayla Pointer said. “We’re going to take our loss today, work on some things tomorrow and Saturday and get ready for Auburn.”