South Carolina Basketball: 3 thumbs up, 3 thumbs down from thrilling win on the Bayou
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Basketball vs. LSU Tigers
Thumbs Up 1: No Quit from Dawn Staley's Gamecocks
Things weren't pretty early, they weren't that pretty in the middle, and they weren't always pretty near the end, but the Gamecocks didn't quit on Thursday night.
Poor rebounding early and inconsistent defense in the 1st half were corrected after halftime, and players who struggled shooting in the 1st half (Bree Hall, Te-Hina Paopao were at their best down the stretch. The bad first half from Kamilla Cardoso and Ashlyn Watkins did not stop them from having good moments in the second half, and elite team defense late in the game would not allow the Tigers to keep up with the surging Gamecocks.
South Carolina Basketball vs. LSU Tigers
Thumbs Up 2: Fouls and Turnovers
South Carolina had three turnovers in the opening minutes and had two of their post players in foul trouble in the 1st quarter. After that, the Gamecocks barely fouled at all and limited their turnovers in a big way. For the game, respectable totals in giveaways (12) and fouls (11) allowed the 11-point comeback to happen.
A special shoutout goes to Bree Hall for playing within herself. Despite playing 30 minutes, she had 0 turnovers and 0 fouls for the entire game.
South Carolina Basketball vs. LSU Tigers
Thumbs Up 3: Balanced Scoring
The Gamecocks should have scored more on Thursday night, but 76 points against LSU is not bad, and they had their highest scoring output in the 4th quarter with 24 points in the final frame.
At different times of the game, the Gamecocks got big offensive contributions from different players. Chloe Kitts led the way in the 1st quarter with 9 points, MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 8 in 5 minutes in the 2nd, Kamilla Cardoso woke up with 6 points in the 3rd period, and Te-Hina Paopao and Bree Hall combined for 15 points in the final frame. Raven Johnson was the steady contributor, scoring in every quarter, and Sania Feagin made all three of her shots from the floor.