South Carolina’s defense dominated no.5 LSU in a 66-56 win. Here’s what stood out to me from the game.

– Defense wins games. For the third straight home game, South Carolina held a top-ten-scoring opponent to its lowest-scoring quarter of the season. South Carolina held both Texas and Oklahoma to nine points in the first quarter and then held LSU to eight points in the second quarter. 

The Gamecock offense left a lot to be desired on Friday. But it doesn’t matter if you don’t let the other team score. They made every pass a challenge, even if it didn’t lead to a turnover. Raven Johnson (five steals) and MiLaysia Fulwiley (three steals) applied ball pressure that forced the Tigers to work just to get into their offense, and then Sania Feagin (three blocks) led the rim protection.

South Carolina got 22 points off 17 LSU turnovers, while only giving up eight points off 12 turnovers. That’s the ballgame right there.

– Feagin was fantastic again. She filled up the box score with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and two steals. She even had five turnovers to pad it out.

Feagin didn’t equal Aneesah Morrow, who had 15 points and 16 rebounds, but she evened out a good chunk of that production. Feagin also made Morrow work for everything she got and ultimately Morrow fouled out.

Feagin also flashed those guard skills that made her such a coveted recruit. She was able to run the break and set up Raven Johnson for a layup during the crucial 8-0 run. She mixed up some face-up drives with post-ups that put pressure on the defender to adjust. 

It’s hard to believe that a few months ago we were debating whether Feagin should still be starting.

– Fulwiley had a spectacular first half, but then only played four minutes in the second half. She ceded most of her playing time to Tessa Johnson, who helped put LSU away late. They are a contrast in styles. Fulwiley is explosive but unpredictable. Johnson is steady but reliable.

Dawn Staley said last weekend that sometimes it’s hard to play Fulwiley in close games because of her unpredictability. That was the case on Friday. Fulwiley shot just 2-11 and several were ill-advised. 

On the other hand, Johnson shot 4-9 and was usually in the right spot. That included a play drawn up for her with a little over two minutes left that Staley called “the biggest sht of the game.” Johnson got to her spot, got the ball, and drained the shot to basically put the game out of reach. There’s something to be said for predictability.