No. 1 South Carolina escapes No. 9 LSU in top-10 matchup

Angel Reese’s frantically sprinted down the court in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s blockbuster matchup between No. 1 South Carolina and No. 9 LSU, hoping to prevent Gamecock guard Raven Johnson from erasing LSU’s narrow two-point advantage. Instead, the All-American’s hustle produced something far worse: the straggling right hand of Reese connected with Johnson, and the “Bayou Barbie” picked up her fifth foul of the evening. 

Thanks to Reese’s absence and clutch shooting from veteran Bree Hall, South Carolina would end the game on a 9-2 run, erasing what was once an 11-point deficit and escaping Baton Rouge with a gutsy 76-70 victory. 

Hall would open the evening’s scoring as well, marking a rare bright spot for South Carolina in a first half where they would never lead again. Distilling the energy from a sold-out, whited-out Pete Maravich Center, hustle plays powered LSU to a dominant first-quarter display, leading by as much as 11. The Tigers secured seven offensive rebounds and four takeaways in the opening 10 minutes, growing their lead to 24-13 behind a balanced scoring attack — Aneesah Morrow lead the way with 10, while Hailey Van Lith poured in five of her own and star freshman Mikaylah Williams chipped in with four. 

But to begin the second quarter, it was all Angel Reese, assuaging concerns as to whether she could lead LSU’s thin front court against the dominant USC interior duo of Kamilla Cardoso and Ashlyn Watkins. Reese scored eight of LSU’s first 10 points, in the second quarter proving unguardable around the basket and excelling on the defensive end as well — Watkins and Cardoso combined for a single field goal attempt and three personal fouls in the opening 19 minutes of action. 

Decidedly out toughed in the opening half, legendary coach Dawn Staley evoked a thunderous response from her ball club. After ending the first half with a -9 margin on the glass, South Carolina would ultimately win the rebounding battle by a pair, using this toughness to erase a 41-36 halftime deficit. 

A 6-2 spurt out of the locker room for the Gamecocks ended with an assured stare down from Cardoso after rejecting Reese’s shot into the whited-out crowd, and Reese would return the favor after a block of her own moments later. As tensions continued to simmer, South Carolina would again narrow the deficit down to one, but a Hailey Van Lith jumper would restore LSU’s two-possession lead heading into the final period of play. 

Carried by the resilient scoring of Chloe Kitts, who buoyed South Carolina amid double-digit deficits, along with first-and-second quarter buzzer beaters from Te-Hina Paopao and MiLaysia Fulwiley, the Gamecocks turned to an unlikely hero with the game tied at 67 late in regulation.

Unfazed by a meager 2-6 return on the afternoon or the Gamecocks’ uncharacteristic struggles from deep — entering Saturday with an NCAA-record 44.1 percent three-point clip, South Carolina had shot just 5-18 before Hall’s…