January 25, 2025
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Breaking down South Carolina’s defensive masterclass against LSU
By The Next
Lincoln Shafer: Gamecocks' defense was total 'suffocation' in last three quarters
In the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, Hunter Cruse, Emily Adler and Lincoln Shafer break down Friday’s game between No. 2 South Carolina and No. 5 LSU. South Carolina came away with a 66-56 win in the teams’ only matchup of the regular season.
Continue reading with a subscription to The Next
Get unlimited access to women’s basketball coverage and help support our hardworking staff of writers, editors, and photographers by subscribing today.
Already a member?
Login
Shafer talks about the Gamecocks’ defense, which allowed the Tigers to shoot just 22.8% from the field over the final three quarters:
“It’s suffocation. … Sania Feagin was incredible in this game. Her rim defense — she blocked three shots. [She set a] new career high in minutes at 35 minutes. She ran the break; she led a fast break after picking a pocket and threw a lob to Raven Johnson. Just an outstanding performance. Raven Johnson’s coming over and making weak-side blocks. Tessa Johnson had a block, too. … [And] Bree Hall and Tessa Johnson were absolutely defending their tails off.”
Related content ahead of the game:
- Locked On Women’s Basketball: SEC news and analysis
- SEC notebook: South Carolina-LSU showdown, Tennessee-Texas clash, things we learned in Week 3
The Next, a 24/7/365 women’s basketball newsroom
The Next: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX. 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.
Adler explains what she saw from Joyce Edwards, who was the third-ranked freshman in the 2024 class and led South Carolina with 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting off the bench:
“She just gets to the right spots offensively. I’m still waiting for some of the finishing or the moves to click, because she does a lot of good stuff and then the ball just half the time doesn’t go in. … It’s not to bring down what she does to get open and make it look mundane. But yeah, all of this [is] on top of her … being possibly a semi-generational defensive prospect, given her versatility.”
Want even more women’s sports in your inbox?
Subscribe now to our sister publication The IX and receive our independent women’s sports newsletter six days a week. Learn more about your favorite athletes and teams around the world competing in soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics from our incredible team of writers.
Readers of The Next now save 50% on their subscription to The IX.
Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!
Add Locked On Women’s Basketball to your daily routine
Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.