The surprise that got away: How South Carolina rebounded to beat LSU

The women's college basketball showdown between South Carolina and LSU that everyone was waiting for turned into a thriller until the last moment. But the result maintained the status quo for the 2023-24 season. The No. 1 Gamecocks overcame a strong effort from the No. 9 Tigers for a 76-70 victory Thursday before a sold-out crowd at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Fans arrived early and there was great anticipation for what coaches Dawn Staley and Kim Mulkey would wear. The ESPN College GameDay team got excited, excitedly crushing a Bayou King Cake in search of the lucky baby.

LSU led by six points after the first quarter and by five at halftime. However, after dominating most of their games this season, the Gamecocks showed their ability to come back, outscoring the Tigers by 10 points in the fourth quarter.

That included two huge 3-pointers in the final three minutes from Gamecock junior guard Bree Hall. They were his only two plays of the game from behind the arc and they came at the decisive moment.

All five starters for both teams scored in double figures. LSU star Angel Reese fouling out with just over four minutes left was a key moment.

The Gamecocks have only one other currently ranked team left on their regular-season schedule: No. 8 UConn on Feb. 11. LSU has none. It's a strange season in the SEC with only two teams ranked at the end of January. Will we see a Gamecocks-Tigers rematch in the SEC tournament? Probably. And in the NCAA tournament? Possibly.

We analyzed the program and what it told us about both teams.

LSU led most of the game before South Carolina took the lead in the fourth quarter. How did the Gamecocks recover to stay undefeated?

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South Carolina puts LSU away with Raven Johnson's decisive basket

No. 1 South Carolina remains undefeated after finishing strong on the road against No. 9 LSU.

Cream: More than anything, the Gamecocks remained composed. Getting back on the road in that environment requires composure. Did you notice Staley on the bench? His expression never changed despite the intensity of the game. She was calm and so was her team. With the opposing crowd going wild, South Carolina was able to run the offense as it would in practice.

That's why the Gamecocks were able to make six of their last seven shots. Hall's open 3-pointers were the two most important. Kamilla Cardoso didn't panic when she caught the ball in the post and the LSU defense converged. She made the right decision in finding Hall and the passes hit home. Hall is 48.5% from 3-point range on the season (he was 2-for-4 from beyond the arc on Thursday). If you open it like this, it will not be surprising that it does so at the most important moments.

Voepel: Becoming a better three-point shooting team was a big point of emphasis for Staley this season. That was a must-fix for the Gamecocks after last season's national semifinal loss to Iowa. And Staley has done it with the personnel he added on the playing and coaching sides.

The Gamecocks were 7 of 20 from behind the arc on Thursday. Along with Hall's slamming doors in the fourth quarter, the 3-pointer MiLaysia Fulwiley hit just before the halftime buzzer changed the tone and momentum in the locker room. And like Charlie said, South Carolina stayed calm and made no mistakes. This was a game where a few mistimed mistakes made the difference, and those were LSU's.

Besides Reese fouling out with 4:02 left, what went wrong for LSU in the fourth quarter?

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Bree Hall hits a go-ahead 3-pointer for South Carolina

South Carolina takes the lead after Bree Hall smothers a three-pointer.

Cream: That was really the turning point. LSU led 67-65 when Reese got his fifth. The Gamecocks outscored the Tigers 11-3 the rest of the game. Somewhat neutralized by South Carolina's size, Reese was still the Tigers' second-leading scorer with 15 points and eight rebounds.

Without the biggest threat down low, LSU stopped trying to get the ball inside. The Tigers' next five possessions were jump shots. Hailey Van Lith's three-pointer that temporarily tied the score at 70 was the only one that went in. LSU had also dominated on the glass in the first half. That disappeared in the fourth quarter when South Carolina held a 12-4 lead. Missed jumpers without offensive rebounds were an inopportune bad combination for the Tigers.

Voepel: The Tigers' offense went poorly, a credit to South Carolina. LSU scored just 6 points in the final 5½ minutes and made costly mistakes. Reese's absence for the remaining minutes was important, but the Tigers also suffered a Van Lith turnover, a failed putback by Aalyah Del Rosario and only one shot attempt by Aneesah Morrow in the final four minutes, although she led the team with 16 points. and made 7 of 11 field goals.

What did you learn about each team (good or bad) from Thursday's game?

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Aneesah Morrow lights up the crowd with a big block

Aneesah Morrow lights up the crowd after blocking Bree Hall's layup attempt.

Cream: Despite the loss, LSU was impressive. With the exception of North Carolina in the first quarter of its Nov. 30 meeting against the Gamecocks, no team has had South Carolina on its heels like this. The talent that most of us felt in the preseason was the best in the country was on display for much of this game. But that talent is relegated to the starting quintet. If Reese hadn't fouled out, all of LSU's starters would have played more than 30 minutes. Mulkey didn't really trust his bench at a big time. That was eye-opening and could be a problem in March.

This game also showed that you can have South Carolina, but it will take 40 minutes of execution to do it. The Tigers had about 36 minutes of winning basketball. Even at home, that's not enough against the Gamecocks. South Carolina has multiple ways to win. This time it had nothing to do with the Gamecocks' dominance, but rather shooting and executing when necessary.

Voepel: Upon arrival we knew that South Carolina had the deepest bank. It showed Thursday when the Gamecocks got 16 points and nine rebounds from Fulwiley, Sania Feagin and Ashlyn Watkins, who combined to make 7 of 10 field goals. When you have that with five starters who play very well together, it's hard to contain the Gamecocks, even for a team as talented as LSU.

Congratulations to starter Chloe Kitts, who scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and forced the LSU defense to pay attention. In games like this you can see how much Kitts benefited from her freshman season last year competing in practice against former South Carolina superstar Aliyah Boston, who was on the court to support the Gamecocks.

South Carolina remains number one overall in bracketology. What does this loss do to LSU?

Cream: The Gamecocks had firmly established themselves as the best team in the country. A road loss against a top-10 conference opponent wasn't going to change that. Win or lose, South Carolina would still be the No. 1 overall team.

LSU had a lot to gain with a win: a jump from No. 3 to No. 2. That won't happen, but the Tigers won't fall either. They showed the committee more Thursday than in most of their 18 victories. LSU was ninth overall, the first No. 3 seed, and the Tigers will remain the No. 3 seed in ESPN's full Bracketology update on Friday despite the loss.