Angel Reese frantically sprinted around the court in the fourth quarter of Thursday's blockbuster matchup between No. 1 South Carolina and No. 9 LSU, hoping to stop Gamecock guard Raven Johnson from taking away the team's narrow two-point lead to undo LSU. Instead, the All-American's hustle led to something far worse: Reese's weak right hand connected with Johnson, and the “Bayou Barbie” picked up her fifth foul of the night.
Thanks to Reese's absence and veteran Bree Hall's game-winning shot, South Carolina closed the game on a 9-2 run, erasing an earlier 11-point deficit and allowing Baton Rouge to escape with a gutsy 76-70 victory.
Hall also opened the scoring on the night, marking a rare bright spot for South Carolina in a first half in which they would never lead again. Distilling the energy from a sold-out, white Pete Maravich Center through busy plays, LSU led to a dominant first quarter performance, leading by as many as 11. The Tigers secured seven offensive rebounds and four takeaways in the first ten minutes. They extended their lead to 24-13 thanks to a balanced offensive attack – Aneesah Morrow led the way with 10 goals, while Hailey Van Lith added five goals of her own and freshman Mikaylah Williams contributed four goals.
But early in the second quarter, it was only Angel Reese who eased concerns about whether she could lead LSU's thin frontcourt against USC's dominant interior duo of Kamilla Cardoso and Ashlyn Watkins. Reese scored eight of LSU's first 10 points, proved unguarded around the basket in the second quarter and also excelled on defense – Watkins and Cardoso combined for a single field goal attempt and three personal fouls in the first 19 minutes of play.
Legendary coach Dawn Staley, clearly under pressure in the first half, sparked a thunderous response from her ball club. After ending the first half with a -9 lead on the glass, South Carolina would ultimately win the rebound battle by two and use that toughness to erase a 41-36 halftime deficit.
The Gamecocks' 6-2 sprint out of the locker room ended with a confident look from Cardoso after he parried Reese's shot into the White crowd, and Reese returned the favor moments later with a block of his own. As tensions continued to subside, South Carolina was able to cut the deficit back to one, but a jumper from Hailey Van Lith would restore LSU's two-possession lead heading into the final period of the game.
Aided by strong scoring from Chloe Kitts, who buoyed South Carolina despite double-digit deficits, as well as first and second quarter buzzers from Te-Hina Paopao and MiLaysia Fulwiley, the Gamecocks turned into unlikely heroes with the game tied at 67 late in the game Regulation.
Unfazed by a meager 2-for-6 return on the afternoon or the Gamecocks' uncharacteristic difficulties from deep – South Carolina entered Saturday's NCAA record 44.1 percent from three-point range and had shot just 5-for-18 before Hall's attempts – , Hall turned excellent passes from Cardoso into a pair of clutch three-pointers. Johnson led 73-70 within 40 seconds and tied the game for USC with a tough floater before draining two free throws to push the final score to 76-70.