COLUMBIA, SC – LSU’s attempt to give South Carolina’s Gamecocks # 1 their first defeat at the Southeast Conference in their last 28 disputes looked promising towards the end of the game, with energetic defensive strings that led to fruitful offensive possessions, but the women’s basketball team it didn’t work, dropping by a score of 66-59 inside the Colonial Life Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Tigers drop to 8-10 in the season and 6-6 in the SEC, while Gamecocks advance to 17-2 overall and 12-0 in the league.
Redshirt senior Faustine Aifuwa it took three blocks to move up to second place on the LSU block list of all time entering the game. She collected three in the first semester alone, giving her 178, who drew former Tiger Julie Gross (178; 1978-80). In the second half, she left with four blocks and became the second Tiger – along with Sylvia Fowles (321; 2004-08) – to overcome 180 blocks in her career. Aifuwa is second with 182.
Aifuwa also ended with the 18th double-double of his career and the ninth this season. His line of statistics consisted of 11 points, 12 rebounds, seven blocks and a steal.
Senior Prison cherry he had an impressive game in the fourth period, ending with a career record of 19 points, despite having suffered four fouls at the start of the second half. She managed 11 points in the second half and completed her line of statistics with five rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Senior Khayla Pointer had several positive points throughout the game, ending with 11 points, three rebounds, six assists and three steals. She entered the top 25 on the LSU all-time points list against the Florida Gators on Thursday and moved up one position after today’s competition. She overtook Patricia Woods (1,121; 1985-89) and is now 24th with 1,225 career points.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN
- LSU started scoring after a floater made by Pointer. Senior Rakell Spencer added another bucket to give the Tigers a 4-0 lead over South Carolina.
- Gamecocks then entered a scoring race of 8-0 to lead LSU 8-4 with 4:58 remaining in the first quarter.
- A second year jumper Domonique Davis broke a six-minute score drought for LSU. Gamecocks led 12-6 with 2:10 remaining in the quarter.
- South Carolina continued to beat LSU and led the Tigers 17-7 after a quarter of a game.
- Cherry added the first four points of the second quarter to LSU. South Carolina continued to outperform the Tigers and led 32 to 18 in the second quarter timeout.
- Despite scoring 15 points in the second quarter, LSU still lost to South Carolina 34-22 in the interval.
- Two free throws by Aifuwa started the scoring in the third quarter. LSU closed the gap to 10, with South Carolina ahead 34-24 with 9:00 remaining in the quarter.
- The score went back and forth between LSU and South Carolina. In the media timeout, the Gamecocks led the Tigers 41-29.
- After the time limit, South Carolina made 13-9 scoring points and led LSU 54-38 at the end of the third quarter.
- LSU started the fourth period with a score of 8-4 to close the gap. With 4:28 left in the game, the Gamecocks led the Tigers 58-46.
- The Tigers attempted a recovery at the end of the fourth period, but failed against the Gamecocks, losing to South Carolina 66-59.
Nikki Fargas‘Postgame Quotes
Opening statement …
“South Carolina is a team that, when you plan a game for them, what stands out is the ability to rebound from basketball. They controlled the boards, which obviously controlled the pace of the game and allowed them to have second and third chances. compete on the charts and I thought that was the difference in the game. Defensively, holding onto South Carolina in the 1960s was a decent defensive effort. I thought offensively, if we could have hit a few more kicks. good looking. You know that South Carolina and Aliyah Boston worked a little there and I thought that gave them an internal presence. I thought Destanni Henderson played a lot today. “
On the importance of second chance points …
“Well, it was 23-7. We had to play our smaller team against this team and 23 points against our seven is a huge deficit to overcome. Once again, you have a player like Aliyah Boston, who can give you extra possessions. it helps tremendously. You saw where Saxton can get in and get some belongings there. It’s one thing to get offensive rebounds, it’s another to score. I thought they could get some boards, I think in our first game against them they got eight or nine points as points second chance. Tonight, we didn’t do a lot of work in that area. “
At LSU based on its performance in the fourth quarter …
“I think so. I think we can improve from the fourth period. We will still see how we play aggressively. When the ball enters the ring for us and we are scoring basketball, it will allow us to configure our press. When we are not scoring, we cannot set up our entire court pressure and this is something that is a strong point of ours. We managed to get a little more in the second half because we managed to score a little better. Security of the ball, you know in the first half we were turning the ball a lot. , we settled down and took good care of basketball. Our offensive production in the second half was much better. The first quarter was definitely a bad time for pitches, in terms of percentage. When you go 3-11 and are turning the ball, it will be a first hectic time for us. That’s where we have to improve. It’s four quarters. It’s not up to us to focus on three or three and ah alf. You have to play against a team like Carolina do Sul and, as we continue with the rest of the programming, you can’t stay out of the rooms. You have to be locked in every quarter. “
Next
The Tigers will stay on the road and head to Lexington, Kentucky, where they will face the No. 20 Wildcats inside the Memorial Coliseum. The match will take place on Thursday, February 18, and will be broadcast on SEC Network Plus at 6 pm CT. Fans are encouraged to tune in to the LSU Sports Radio Network, broadcasting on 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge, with Voice of the Tigers, Patrick Wright, kicking off the action.