In its first appearance in the SEC Tournament championship game since 2012, LSU could not complete the comeback as it suffers its 16th straight loss to South Carolina.
In its rematch of the well-acclaimed game that occurred on Jan. 24, LSU fell just short as it lost to South Carolina in the SEC Championship game at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
“We battled with five, maybe six (totally) healthy players,” Angel Reese said. “We’re not scared. We’re in a place right now that I’m proud of and I’m happy where we are right now.”
“We’re playing some good basketball right now,” Coach Kim Mulkey echoed. “That’s just the God’s truth. They (South Carolina) have a lot of depth. One kid, basically, hurt us today and that was (MiLaysia) Fulwiley. You look at the stats, how can you not leave here and go, god I wish the playoffs started next week?”
Although the outcome wasn’t what LSU wanted, it was the first time the Tigers had advanced to the championship game since 2012. Before this season, Mulkey and LSU did not fare well in the SEC Tournament since her arrival to Baton Rouge in 2021. LSU lost its first game to Kentucky in 2022 and lost in the semifinals to Tennessee after the Volunteers pulled off a huge comeback to knock off the Tigers.
It was a strong finish for LSU because of the injury bug that has stricken the Tigers that left them with low numbers.
Reese sprained her ankle and forward Anneesah Morrow received a black eye in LSU’s win over Auburn in the quarterfinals on Friday. Flau’Jae Johnson also battled some cramps throughout the tournament and Hailey Van Lith wasn’t 100% as well as she took a few licks in the paint through three games in three days. Mikaylah Williams did not play a single second in either of the first two games and was on a minute restriction against South Carolina. On Saturday, Last-Tear Poa suffered a concussion after a scary fall and was taken off on a stretcher. Poa watched Sunday’s game from the team hotel after undergoing tests and fortunately was released from the hospital last night.
“We’re pretty darn tough,” Mulkey said she learned from her team this weekend. “Resilient. They have each other’s back. Didn’t get rattled. Fought through some adversity with Poa’s injury last night to get to this point.”
Morrow had a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds to record her 19th double-double of the season. Reese earned her 12th straight double-double after she put up 15 points and 13 rebounds. Her performance on Sunday marks her 23rd double-double of the season.
Van Lith had an efficient night shooting the ball with 14 points on 5-for-11 from the field and two triples. Johnson finished with 13 points and shot 4-for-10 from the field with 2 three-pointers. No other Tiger reached double figures.
Fulwiley led the Gamecocks with 24 points on 8-12 from the field and four three-pointers. Te-Hina Paopao followed with 12 points and added 5 assists. Bree Hall and Raven Johnson finished with 9 points each.