LSU women's basketball vs. South Carolina: Score prediction, scouting report
A Southeastern Conference or national championship won't be won Thursday night, but the storylines and everything surrounding the game will give the regular season clash between No. 9 LSU women's basketball and No. 1 South Carolina a championship-caliber feel.
A top-10 matchup featuring two of the top coaches in women's college basketball in Dawn Staley and Kim Mulkey, stars in Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson for the Tigers (18-2, 5-1 SEC), Te-Hina Paopao and Kamilla Cardoso for the Gamecocks (17-0, 5-0 SEC) all over the court inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN).
ESPN will broadcast College Gameday from the floor, previewing the game that features the two most recent NCAA champions the full hour before tipoff.
For the second straight season, the teams are meeting in a highly-anticipated showdown as last season's game at South Carolina pitted No. 1 versus No. 2.
Is LSU women's basketball-South Carolina a rivalry?
On paper, it's not much of a rivalry of late between LSU and South Carolina, who has won the last 14 meetings spanning 12 seasons.
Mulkey told media members Wednesday that she's not sure who her team's rival is. And she doesn't necessarily look at the Gamecocks as rivals.
"If you're asking about the program we haven't beaten them in a number of years, it would be good for the program but it's not going to be the end-all," Mulkey said. "If we beat them life goes on, if we lose life goes on.
"There are bigger games down the road for South Carolina and for LSU."
Hailey Van Lith, Mikaylah Williams must stay hot to keep South Carolina honest against Angel Reese
LSU senior point guard Hailey Van Lith and freshman wing Mikaylah Williams will be pivotal on both ends of the floor in their team's effort to upset the Gamecocks.
Williams and Van Lith led LSU's multi-faceted offense in scoring against Arkansas with 21 and 20, respectively, and Mulkey will need similar shooting performances from the guard duo against South Carolina. LSU's best shot is to push the tempo against South Carolina, and keeping turnovers at a minimum will be key.
Both will need to play improved defense against USC point guard Raven Johnson and wing Bree Hall, and mix in freshman sensation MiLaysia Fulwiley as well, a lethal trio of guards that can score.
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South Carolina Gamecocks scouting report
Much like LSU, South Carolina once again has more than enough firepower on offense.
The addition of Te-Hina Paopao, the transfer from Oregon, as well as the emergence of junior Bree Hall and freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley, to go along with Kamilla Cardoso in the paint, the Gamecocks have threats to score at every level.
Arguably, what this season's South Carolina team does best is defend. Staley's squad leads Division I in field goal percentage defense as teams make just 29.4% of their shots and had been leading the nation in scoring defense before SEC play tipped off.
The Gamecocks are going to want to slow the game down and try to keep LSU from getting out in transition, a facet of their defense that they also shine in.
LSU women's basketball score prediction vs. South Carolina
South Carolina 93, LSU 79: LSU struggles in halfcourt defense and defending the 3-ball, two areas that the Gamecock's offense are very good at. Raucous crowd keeps the Tigers in it early but South Carolina settles in and pulls away.
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU women's basketball-South Carolina: Score prediction, scouting report
