No. 3 South Carolina holds on to defeat No. 6 LSU; Dawn Staley wins 500th game as Gamecocks' head coach

Story byNo. 3 South Carolina holds on to defeat No. 6 LSU; Dawn Staley wins 500th game as Gamecocks' head coachThe Tigers drew within one point of the Gamecocks six times in the second half, only to see their losing streak in the series reach 18 gamesNo. 3 South Carolina holds on to defeat No. 6 LSU; Dawn Staley wins 500th game as Gamecocks' head coachAndy BackstromContributing writerSun, February 15, 2026 at 4:10 AM UTC·1 min read

LSU was on the brink of taking down South Carolina for the first time since January 2012. Flau'jae Johnson, who stacked seven points and four offensive rebounds, was at the free-throw line with only 45 seconds remaining and a chance to finally put the Tigers ahead again.

But Johnson's gritty effort fell short at the charity stripe, where she missed both of her attempts.

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Then, on the other end, South Carolina's Raven Johnson muscled a pass to Madina Okot. The senior center banked a shot in to give the Gamecocks a bit more breathing room.

Kim Mulkey drew up a potential game-tying 3 for Johnson, except that long-range attempt was off the mark.

South Carolina iced the game at the line, leaving Baton Rouge with a 79-72 victory, Dawn Staley's 500th win as the Gamecocks' head coach.

This story is being updated.

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