By james art 
LSU women’s basketball fell short again against South Carolina, making it 16 straight losses to the Gamecocks. After a competitive first half, Dawn Staley and South Carolina took control in the second half and held the lead from there.
LSU’s offense was clicking in the first quarter, scoring 22 points, but LSU scored just eight points in the second and 11 in the third.
LSU shot just 23/77 from the field and was 3/14 behind the arc. LSU fouled South Carolina 19 times and the Gamecocks had an 11-point lead at the free throw line. In a 10-point game, that was enough to be the difference.
South Carolina scored 22 points off LSU turnovers along with 34 points in the paint.
LSU won the rebounding battle, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a poor shooting performance.
It was LSU’s first loss of the season. At 20-1, Kim Mulkey’s team continues to control its destiny.
Here’s what Kim Mulkey had to say after the loss.
Aneesah Morrow and an offensive rebound
“I thought she did well. She had a double-double. She’s 5-11, 6 feet there and led everyone in rebounds. Heck, we had 28 offensive boards. And you lost by 10, so what does that tell you? This tells you that we do nothing when we get these offensive boards. You have to do something with them, you have to score, you have to make good shots. I didn’t think (Morrow) did any of what she usually does.”
In LSU’s defense
“I thought our defense and I thought South Carolina’s defense was good. Low score game. The two teams scouted each other quite well. It wasn’t a fun game offensively, but I didn’t think it was a boring game. I thought it was a very good game. We just played man vs. man like always, we didn’t duplicate anyone. I didn’t notice South Carolina doing anything different. Only two teams that are very talented make it.”
To Flau’J Johnson
Mulkey said South Carolina did a good job contesting Johnson’s shots and getting physical in the second half.
“This is basketball,” Mulkey said, “Flau’Jae was guarding Pao-Pao, look at Pao-Pao’s stats. So Flau’Jae had a decent day too.”
What made the difference
“In this game, it’s usually the little things that make the difference. For me, the lapses at the most critical moment allowed the audience to get into it, which allowed them to gain a little more confidence.”
What did she learn?
“I learned that we can wrestle with the best in the country,” Mulkey said, “and I really think they’re the best in the country. I know UCLA put it on them, but I don’t think I’ve ever coached against a team that had 10 McDonald’s All-Americans on the roster. How do you manage to keep 10 on the list? And that’s what we faced today.”