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Best rated South Carolina beat number 5 L.S.U. 79-72 to win Dawn Staley’s eighth SEC championship in 10 years on Sunday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. It was a tense matchup against Kim Mulkey and the defending national champions.
The Gamecocks remain undefeated and improved to 32-0 on the season after a near-fight interrupted the fourth quarter.
LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson tried to stop MiLaysia Fulwiley’s latest steal. South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso retaliated and pushed Johnson to the ground. Johnson’s teammate Hailey Van Lith ran up and confronted Cardoso and there was more fighting. Several players from both sides were sent off. Cardoso will miss the first round of the NCAA tournament due to fighting.
Fulwiley led all scorers with 24 points. Aneesah Morrow led the Tigers with 19 points. Angel Reese scored 15 despite suffering an ankle injury.
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South Carolina coach Dawn Staley apologizes for near-fight after SEC tournament win
After winning her eighth SEC tournament title, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley seemed subdued. “I just want to apologize to the basketball community,” Staley told ESPN reporter Brooke Weisbrod. “When you play championship games like this and things get heated, there is no bad intentions. Their emotions got so far ahead of them that sometimes these things happen.
“I want to apologize for playing a role in that. That’s not who we are, that’s not what we do. “I’m happy for the players who were able to finish the game and get us another championship.”
Asked how he would address the near-fight that broke out and caused a 20-minute delay, Staley said, “We’re going to talk about it. We have always talked about it. Never leave the bank. Never go too high on the highs or go too low on the lows. It’s hard when you’re playing. I played this game for a long time and I can’t tell you that I was a saint throughout. Your emotions take over you. “It is unfortunate that the players who were sent off cannot be part of the (post-match) celebration.”
End of fourth quarter: South Carolina 79, LSU 72
The fourth quarter was 20 minutes longer than usual due to a fight that broke out after Flau’jae Johnson tried to stop MiLaysia Fulwiley’s late steal. Players from both teams were sent off.
In the end, South Carolina prevailed to beat LSU 79-72. The Tigers pulled within one point after a nine-point run capped by a layup by Angel Reese and a pair of free throws by Johnson. But the Gamecocks closed the game with four free throws. They finished 16 of 19 from the charity stripe.
Head coach Dawn Staley apologized to “the basketball community” for the fight.
“That’s not who we are,” he said on the ESPN broadcast after the game.
Fight almost broke out between South Carolina and LSU; Flau’jae Johnson’s brother escorted off the court
The battle for the SEC championship heated up in the fourth quarter when South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley got a steal and started dribbling down the court. LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson grabbed her from behind her to stop her and then shoved Amani Bartlett. South Carolina star Kamilla Cardoso retaliated and pushed Johnson to the ground. Johnson’s teammate Hailey Van Lith ran up and confronted Cardoso and there was more fighting.
The LSU bench cleared and a South Carolina coach stopped players before a fight nearly broke out in front of the scorer’s table.
A fan jumped over the scorers table and was quickly followed by a police officer. The fan, whom the ESPN broadcast identified as Johnson’s brother, was escorted off the court. Johnson’s mother was shown speaking to a police officer.
There was an 11-minute break in the game at 2:08 with the Gamecocks up 73-66 while officials resolved the incident.
Johnson was fouled intentionally and Cardoso was disqualified for fighting. All players who left the bench were also sent off from the match.
End of third quarter: South Carolina 59, LSU 53
South Carolina maintains its lead in the fourth quarter, up 59-53 over LSU.
The Gamecocks went up by as many as 13 points before the Tigers’ Angel Reese made a physical layup. Then Aalyah Del Rosario hit a long jumper and all of her LSU teammates were pumping their fists in reference to Kim Mulkey’s comments that the center needed to play like a Mack Truck.
But MiLaysia Fulwiley hit back-to-back three-pointers to regain South Carolina’s momentum.
Late in the period, LSU’s Aneesah Morrow brought the game within four and the Tigers had a chance to score again, but after multiple offensive rebounds and a steal by Flau’jae Johnson, they were unable to score.
South Carolina’s Fulwiley leads all scorers with 20 points, while Morrow has 19 for LSU.
Final Q2: South Carolina 36, LSU 32 with Angel Reese on the bench after an intentional foul
The Gamecocks lead 36-32 at halftime despite a small scoring drought in the second quarter.
Midway through the period, Angel Reese elbowed Kamilla Cardoso, which turned into an intentional foul. It was Reese’s second foul of the game and she went to the bench after the play. She showed him shaking her head at the South Carolina game. Te-Hina Paopao made both free throws.
Reese has four points and seven rebounds. Aneesah Morrow continues to lead the Tigers with 11 points.
Flau’jae Johnson scored his first points for LSU in the second quarter, including a long jumper on which he was fouled and made a three-point play with his free throw.
Dawn Staley’s team went more than four minutes between field goals, but MiLaysia Fulwiley made a layup with two minutes left in the half and closed the quarter with a 3-pointer. He leads South Carolina with 10 points. Paopao is seven.
LSU is outrebounding South Carolina 22 to 12 in the first half.
End of first quarter: South Carolina 18, LSU 15
South Carolina took an early lead in the SEC championship, finishing the first quarter up 18-15.
The undefeated Gamecocks finished the period on an 11-2 run after the Tigers went up 13-7.
Angel Reese has four points for LSU. She showed up to the game wearing a walking boot. Aneesah Morrow leads the Tigers with six points.
For South Carolina, MiLaysia Fulwiley is the leading scorer with five points off the bench.
Angel Reese arrives at SEC championship in walking boots
Angel Reese, LSU’s leading scorer with an average of 19.1 points per game, reached the championship game of the SEC Tournament wearing a walking boot on his right foot.
Despite the boot, Reese was on the court during pregame warmups and in the starting lineup to play. No. 1 South Carolina Sunday afternoon.
On Saturday, Reese had 21 points and 17 rebounds to lead LSU, ranked No. 5 in the nation, to a 75-67 victory over Mississippi to reach the SEC Tournament title game. Reese sprained his ankle against Auburn in the quarterfinals and returned to play with ankle soreness on Saturday. “My ankle is as big as a tennis ball right now,” he said.
LSU suffered another major injury Saturday when Last-Tear guard Poa was stretchered off the court after hitting her ear on the ground. The team said Saturday night that Poa suffered a concussion.