By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports

BATON ROUGE – Sometimes, losing a game has nothing to do with Xs and Os.

“They were tougher than us,” LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson said.

Johnson cut to the chase on why No. 9 LSU faded at the end of two quarters instead extending an eventual 11-point lead as No. 1 South Carolina reeled in a 76-70 victory in the closing minutes Thursday night before a crowd of 13,205 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

After LSU led 41-36 at halftime, the Gamecocks (18-0, 6-0 SEC) turned everything up a notch. It outscored the Tigers (18-3, 5-2) 40-29 after halftime, using a 22-12 rebounding domination. The Gamecocks’ defensive pressure on the perimeter also forced LSU to use valuable seconds off the shot clock to get into offensive sets.

The turning point for LSU came with 4:02 left to play when star forward Angel Reese fouled out with 4:02 left as the Tigers clung to a 67-65 lead. 

“When you don’t have Angel Reese on the floor the last four minutes of the game, it takes you out of your rhythm,” LSU head coach Kim Mulkey said. “It takes you out of your confidence. The game came down to exactly what it usually does. It’s toughness, it’s experience.”

Chloe Kitts scored 14 points to lead the Gamecocks, who beat the Tigers for the 15th straight time and snapped LSU’s 29-game home winning streak and a 33-game regular season homecourt streak.

“Once we settled in, it was a dogfight and it was a game of runs,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. “They made big plays, we made big plays., It was the team that made the last play was the one who was going to win this basketball game.”

It was Gamecocks’ guard Bree Hall who came through in the clutch.

Hall, who missed her first six shots, made her final four in the game’s last six minutes and finished with 10 points.

Hall and LSU’ Hailey Van Lith traded 3-pointers, the latter with 1:37 remaining for a 70-70 tie.

LSU immediately called a 30 second timeout to set its defense, but Hall hit the lead-taking corner 3 with 1:14 left on a post pass from Cardoso.

Former South Carolina star Aliyah Boston, who attended the game and sat behind the Gamecocks’ bench, gave Hall advice that calmed her.

“She said something to Breezy during a timeout that relaxed her,” Staley said. “She (Hall) was able to see the ball come at her and hit them like practice shots she does every single day we’re out on the court.”

Aneesah Morrow had 16 points and 13 rebounds for LSU. Reese had 15 points and eight rebounds before fouling out. Van Lith finished with 12 points. Mikaylah Williams scored 12 and Johnson had 10.

LSU led 24-18 after one quarter and 41-30 late in the second, but the Gamecocks closed the period with a 6-0 run, including a 3 by MiLaysia Fulwiley at the buzzer. South Carolina took its first lead since the first basket of the game when Cardoso converted a layup for a 63-61 advantage with 6:04 left in the fourth.

LSU called timeout six seconds later, Reese re-entered, and the Tigers went on a 5-2 run for a 67-65 lead before Reese fouled out South Carolina’s Raven Johnson tied the game with two free throws.

Without Reese and LSU failing to get the ball to Morrow who had played exceptionally well, the Tigers couldn’t hang on.

“We’ve got work to do,” LSU’s Johnson said. “At the end of each quarter (in the first half), we gave up 3s and we lost by 6. We have to tighten up on things like that. That was the No. 1 team in the nation and we were almost there.”

LSU hits the road for a game Monday at Mississippi State before returning home vs. Florida on Feb. 4.

Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com