Just 27 seconds changed everything.
Once again, the clash of the titans delivered.
South Carolina vs. LSU women’s basketball was tight, back-and-forth, intensely physical and everything you would expect from two giants of the sport in a top-5 showdown.
About those 27 seconds, though.
South Carolina scored three layups in quick succession for a 6-0 run, turning a three-point lead into a nine-point lead and some long-awaited separation in a game it eventually won 66-56 to hand the Tigers their first defeat of the season.
Te-Hina Paopao started the quickstrike by curling off a screen and driving in for a layup, her biggest moment of an uncharacteristically off shooting performance. Sania Feagin followed it up with a steal on Shayeann Day-Wilson and a quick outlet pass to Raven Johnson in transition.
Johnson finished off the layup, and as soon as she turned her head around, picked off the inbound and did it again.
Cue sandstorm, cue bedlam and LSU (20-1, 5-1 SEC) never established parity again.
The first quarter looked like a continuation of the two track meets the teams played last year. High-scoring, fast-paced games with elite shot making and halfcourt offense on both sides. By the end of a blistering first 10 minutes the Tigers led 22-21, and it was off to the races.
Then the defenses clamped down, the baskets got a little smaller and the scoring droughts arrived. A gaudy shooting performance from both teams, as LSU ended the half with 14 consecutive misses from the floor and South Carolina (19-1, 7-0 SEC) was not much better with nine misses on its last 10 attempts. Some tight defense both ways, but also a series of smoked layups and off-target open looks which left both coaches shaking their heads and looking to the heavens.
But as the game progressed in its sudden rock fight status with bodies hitting the floor and contact in the paint coming on every possession, depth became the story. LSU had the two best individual performances on the floor, as the Gamecocks could not find match-ups for Flau’Jae Johnson or Annesah Morrow all game. The duo combined for 28 points and 20 rebounds, imposing presences all day.
But as always, the Gamecocks continued to roll bodies in and out. A post rotation of Feagin, Chloe Kitts and Joyce Edwards slowly started to find some better luck on the glass after a rough rebounding start. Tessa Johnson contributed nine key points off the bench, including a smooth turnaround jumper which took the lead out to double-digits midway through the fourth quarter.
There was not on dagger moment in the fourth quarter, or a clear moment when the Gamecocks had the game in the bag. No one player took over, with the balanced scoring of 14 Edwards points, a dozen via Feagin, Johnson's nine and MiLaysia Fulwiley's eight pacing the day.
But South Carolina, still the best team in the SEC until proven otherwise, now firmly has the inside track towards another regular season title.
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