No. 2 South Carolina gets another big win against No. 5 LSU to continue SEC domination

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina showed once more who's in charge of the Southeastern Conference.

The No. 2 Gamecocks (19-1, 7-0 SEC) got 14 points from Joyce Edwards and used their trademark lockdown defense to end No. 5 LSU's perfect start to the season with a 66-56 victory on Friday night.

''I don't know that I've ever coached against a team that has 10 McDonald's All-Americans on the roster.'' Tigers coach Kim Mulkey said. ''How do you even keep 10 on the roster?''

Having a run like this certainly helps. South Carolina continued its domination of the league — it has won four of the past five SEC tournament titles — with its 54th straight regular-season win in conference play.

Against LSU (20-1, 5-1), eight Gamecocks players logged at least 15 minutes. Sania Feagin, a two-time national champion, had 12 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

South Carolina has won 13 straight since its lone loss back in November, 77-62 to No. 1 UCLA. Seven of those victories have come against ranked opponents.

Bree Hall, a senior recruited in Feagin's class before the 2021-22 season, said she and her teammates heard plenty on social media doubting the Gamecocks and whether they could hold up against the undefeated Tigers.

''Stuff like that fuels us,'' Hall said.

The victory was the 17th straight over LSU and fifth in a row since Mulkey became Tigers coach four seasons ago.

All those matchups have been filled with drama, the last time especially in South Carolina's 79-72 victory over LSU to win the SEC Tournament last March.

An altercation marred the final quarter of that game when Flau'jae Johnson got knocked to the floor by South Carolina's 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso. Johnson's brother, Trayron Milton, was arrested after jumping to the court and charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct.

His trial, according to a spokeswoman at the Greenville Police Department, is still pending.

There was no such bad blood in this one, only some loud boos when Mulkey took the court.

Staley said beating LSU was essential for South Carolina in its try for a second straight national title and third in four seasons. Beating the Tigers gives the Gamecocks any tiebreaker edge in the SEC and improves their chances of another high seed in the NCAA Tournament in two months.

''It was necessary for us to win this game,'' she said.

South Carolina took control in the third quarter when it held LSU to 5-for-20 shooting and turned a close contest into a double-digit lead.

Raven Johnson, a fourth-year junior, said the team kicked things into gear when one of the expected stars in Ashlyn Watkins was lost for the year after January knee injury. That UCLA, Johnson continued, was a wake-up call, too.

''We knew we couldn't come back the same as last year we've got to bring something else to the table because teams are coming at us,'' she said. ''I think that loss helped up.''

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