By james art 
Due to the winter storm, we had to wait a bit for this marquee game between the #2 South Carolina Gamecocks and the #5 LSU Tigers, but this game is all about hype.
South Carolina played a complete game and used its depth to eventually overwhelm LSU, prevailing 66-56.
Joyce Edwards led the way with 14 points off the bench and Sanya Fagin scored 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting to extend the Gamecocks’ winning streak to 69 games. LSU’s trio of Aneesah Morrow, Mikaylah Williams and Flau’jae Johnson all played well, but it wasn’t enough to pull off the upset. Morrow, who had 15 points and a Monster 16 rebounds, earned her 93rd career double-double, giving her the second most in NCAA Division I basketball history.
The opening minutes were about as good as LSU could hope for. Morrow and Johnson both went early, and the Tigers opened up 14-9 leads with each starter. South Carolina tried to settle things, but LSU continued to dominate inside. For the game, the Tigers would outscore the Gamecocks by 12.
LSU remained in the driving seat for much of the first quarter, but then Edwards made a pair of free throws and a Feagin jumper, the Tigers led by the thinnest of margins entering the second quarter. Whether you call it good defense or bad offense, both teams struggled to score the rest of the first half. For LSU, however, their offense came to a screeching halt as they failed to score in the final 4:51 seconds of the second.
South Carolina took advantage as Tessa Johnson knocked down a 3-pointer to give them back the lead. Chloe Kitts made one from the charity stripe and the Gamecocks were within one possession at the halftime stoppage.
Williams finally ended the drought for LSU with a jumper at the 9:24 mark of the third. Unfortunately, they allowed South Carolina to go on another 8-0 run and it was all but over with that game. The Gamecocks performance was a team effort. Raven Johnson scored during that stretch, and Kitts continued to attack inside, draw fouls and do whatever he could to keep South Carolina competitive on the glass.
With the Tigers trailing in double figures entering the fourth, it would take an impressive comeback to pull out a victory. Both teams were evenly matched in the final 10 minutes, essentially trading points the rest of the way. In doing so, South Carolina ended LSU’s undefeated streak, earning its best win of the year.
Key takeovers
LSU didn’t get enough offense to win this game. There were numerous long stretches where no grading occurred. To beat South Carolina, you have to play near-perfect basketball, and too many minutes mean nothing for the Tigers. The good news is that they were dominant inside, especially with their rebounding. If LSU’s guards can step up and score a little more efficiently going forward, maybe they can finally get the better of their SEC rival.
South Carolina certainly looked like a championship team on Friday. They were challenged by LSU, but came through, finishing all districts strong. In the first, they cut the lead. In the second, they took control. And in the third they ended the game.
South Carolina won’t have long to celebrate this victory. They play No. 17 Tennessee on Monday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2), while LSU will take on Texas A&M on Sunday, Jan. 26 (4 p.m. ET, SECN).