South Carolina Basketball: Gamecocks win SEC Tournament championship after ugly melee

South Carolina Basketball vs. LSU Tigers
Stats, Scoring, and Observations

South Carolina basketball won a physical contest against the LSU Tigers in the SEC Tournament championship game. Despite an ugly late-game incident, USC held on to win 79-72.

Here are the stats from the game:

STATS

LSU

Points

Leader: Aneesah Morrow with 19

Rebounds

Leader: Angel Reese with 13

Assists

Leader: Hailey Van Lith with 3

Steals

Leader: Aneesah Morrow with 4

Blocks

Leader: Hailey Van Lith with 2

Team

The Tigers shot 37.3%/42.9%/80% and had 17 turnovers

South Carolina

Points

Leader: MiLaysia Fulwiley with 24

Rebounds

Leader: Kamilla Cardoso and Ashlyn Watkins each with 6

Assists

Leader: Raven Johnson and Te-Hina Paopao each with 5

Steals

Leader: Three players each with 2

Blocks

Leader: Ashlyn Watkins with 5

Team

The Gamecocks shot 43.1%/35%/84.2% and had 13 turnovers

BOX SCORE

OBSERVATIONS

• Starters: Raven Johnson-Te-Hina Paopao-Bree Hall-Chloe Kitts-Kamilla Cardoso
• LSU's top-2 point guards were not in the starting lineup; MiKaylah Williams has missed time with a foot/ankle injury and was available off the bench in this game; Last-Tear Poa had a nasty-looking concussion on Saturday and was unavailable.
• The Gamecocks looked out of sorts early as they had 3 turnovers and 6 missed shots in the game's first 5 1/2 minutes. LSU looked crisp on offense and was playing aggressive defense.
• As the Gamecocks settled in, it was their spark plug (MiLaysia Fulwiley) and their best two players (Kamilla Cardoso and Te-Hina Paopao) who led them to a lead.
• LSU DOMINATED the glass in the 1st half, pulling down 22 rebounds compared to just 12 for Carolina.
• A lot of sloppiness with the ball made the game pace choppy. There were 21 giveaways in the 1st half (13 for LSU, 8 for USC).
• Aneesah Morrow had 11 points as the best player for LSU in the opening half. When she played outside, she was less dominant, though she made a 3-pointer. When she played dowl low with Angel Reese on the bench with foul trouble, she started rebounding and scoring in the paint. She also had 3 steals in the 1st half.
• Kamilla Cardoso played really good defense early, but LSU worked hard to limit her impact as a scorer and rebounder.
• USC's top-4 guards had 22 of the team's 36 points in the 1st half. They also chipped in 9 assists and 4 steals while turning the ball over just twice.
• After halftime, Aneesah Morrow started dominating on the glass, as well. Her work inside also allowed her to get to the free throw line at will.
• MiLaysia Fulwiley heated up faster than a microwave in the 3rd, scoring 10 points in 4 minutes to push her game total to 20 in 11 minutes.
• The Gamecocks kept Kamilla Cardoso and Ashlyn Watkins off the floor for most of the 3rd as they both had 3 fouls. With rest and a foul to give, they were ready for the final stretch.
• USC stayed ahead by improving their rebounding effort and
• An ugly melee occurred with Carolina up by 7 with 2 minutes to go. A lot of players were ejected, but Kamilla Cardoso was ejected for "fighting" after shoving Flau'jae Johnson in response to a Johnson intentional foul on MiLaysia Fulwiley and shove on Ashlyn Watkins. She will be suspended for the first NCAA Tournament game.