Guards Tessa Johnson and Raven Johnson powered No. 3 with a combined 40 points, accounting for more than half of the team’s offense in a 79–72 road win over No. 6 on Saturday night at the .
The result moved South Carolina to 25–2 overall and 11–1 in the , while LSU dropped to 22–4 and 8–4 in league play.
LSU will return Thursday for a road matchup against the in Oxford. The game airs on at 8 p.m. CT with , , and on the call, while and handle radio coverage.
A sellout crowd of 13,200 watched the first women’s basketball primetime broadcast on , and the matchup delivered a tightly contested four-quarter battle that South Carolina sealed in the closing minutes.
Senior led LSU with 21 points, eight rebounds, and one assist. Junior added 11 points as the Tigers’ only other double-digit scorer.
LSU opened strong, finishing the first quarter ahead 21–16. Flau’jae Johnson and each scored six as the Tigers closed the period on a 6–2 run after briefly trailing late in the quarter.
South Carolina answered in the second, outscoring LSU 25–19 to take a narrow 41–40 halftime lead, fueled by Tessa and , who combined for 19 points in the period.
Flau’jae Johnson paced LSU in the first half with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Williams contributed nine points on efficient 4-of-5 shooting.
Leading by one, South Carolina extended its advantage with a 9–2 run midway through the third quarter. LSU responded late in the period, cutting the deficit to 54–53 after two free throws from , but the Gamecocks carried a 60–55 edge into the final quarter.
LSU repeatedly trimmed the margin to one possession in the fourth, but South Carolina pulled away in the closing stretch to secure the 79–72 victory in the top-six showdown.
