Super Sunday: No. 1 Gamecocks turn back Angel Reese, No. 3 LSU to stay unbeaten
Super Bowl Sunday opened up with a big-time women’s basketball clash in Columbia, and the home team came out victorious.
No. 1 South Carolina defeated No. 3 LSU 88-64 on Sunday behind a sold-out and raucous Colonial Life Arena crowd. The win makes South Carolina (25-0, 12-0 SEC) the last undefeated women’s college basketball team.
USC jumped out to an 18-2 lead, and crowd noise was an immediate factor. Gamecock fans hounded LSU on every missed shot, foul and turnover early on.
The Tigers managed to cut the lead to nine points at the end of the quarter, thanks to the offense of senior guard Alexis Morris. LSU (23-1, 11-1 SEC) cut the lead to three points at one point in the second quarter, but USC outscored the Tigers 14-7 for the remainder of the period.
Morris — who finished the game with 23 points for LSU — kept the Tigers in the game. South Carolina switched graduate guard Kierra Fletcher to defend her to limit her offense.
“I was just trying to do the best job that I could,” Fletcher said. “We put an emphasis on her in practice, and I just wanted to do my job to help the team win any way that I could.”
The Gamecocks put their exclamation point on the game when Brea Beal made a 3-pointer as time expired in the third quarter, putting USC up by 16. Fans inside Colonial Life Arena went wild, and South Carolina never looked back.
Junior center Kamilla Cardoso had the lone double-double of the afternoon with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The Gamecocks will stay in Columbia to face Florida on Thursday.
USC SLOWS ANGEL REESE
LSU’s star forward Angel Reese struggled against the USC defense.
Reese entered the game as the SEC’s leading scorer and rebounder, with double-doubles in each of the first 23 games. The Gamecocks held her to 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting. They also snapped her double-digit rebounding streak, as she hauled in four boards.
South Carolina made it clear that it would use a team effort to guard Reese. Fifth-year senior Victaria Saxton started off as her primary defender, and Aliyah Boston also guarded her for a good portion of the afternoon.
Laeticia Amihere and Cardoso also guarded Reese during parts of the game.
“In scout, coaches talked about how she’s relentless on the boards,” Boston said. “We knew that, and so just putting a body on her, making sure that even if we don’t get it, as long as she doesn’t get it, it’s OK, just because she just crashes the boards so well.”
SENIORS LEAD THE WAY
Zia Cooke looked sharp early in the game. She carried over her hot shooting from Thursday’s game against Auburn and poured in 17 points on Sunday. Cooke shot 7-of-15 from the floor.
Cooke knocked down jumper after jumper to help South Carolina build its early lead. She also managed to get to the rim for layups in the half-court offense, weaving through the LSU defense.
Boston also starred for the Gamecocks. When the Tigers cut into the lead in the second quarter, she was there with a midrange shot or inside layup attempt to earn free-throw opportunities. She ended with 14 points and nine rebounds.
“I think the beauty of Aliyah is her entire body of work,” head coach Dawn Staley said. “And there’s there’s not anyone in the country that produces like she produces on both sides of the basketball.”
Brea Beal added 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists, also providing excellent defense. Five players ended the game with 10 or more points for South Carolina.
“I think it started off with everyone just being aggressive, sharing the ball passing up a good shot for a great shot,” Fletcher said. “And I think we pushed tempo really well from start to finish.”
STANDINGS WATCH
Sunday’s victory gave USC a 5-0 record this season against teams in The Associated Press Top 25.
South Carolina was announced as a projected No. 1 overall seed in ESPN’s Top 16 reveal on Thursday, and the win secures the Gamecocks in that position.
USC also took the outright lead in the SEC standings with a 12-0 conference record. The conference tournament is March 1-5 in Greenville.
NEXT FOUR SOUTH CAROLINA WBB GAMES
Thursday: home vs. Florida, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Feb. 19: at Ole Miss, 4 p.m. (SEC Network)
Feb. 23: at Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Feb. 26: home vs. Georgia, noon (ESPN2)
This story was originally published February 12, 2023 at 4:02 PM.
