LSU women's basketball Falls 79-72 in Tight Finish; Missed Chances Decide Valentine’s Night
BATON ROUGE, La. — On Saturday night, Feb. 14, 2026, in front of a packed Maravich Assembly Center, LSU women's basketball couldn’t finish the comeback as South Carolina edged the Tigers 79-72. The loss extended South Carolina’s streak over LSU to 18 games and left the Tigers lamenting missed layups and free throws in the final minute.
Late sequence seals result for visiting Gamecocks
Trailing 73-72 with 45. 5 seconds remaining, LSU had a chance to take the lead but senior guard Flau’jae Johnson missed two free throws that would have put the Tigers ahead. South Carolina closed the game on a six-point run, capped by Madina Okot’s driving layup with 25. 5 seconds left and two free throws with 16. 1 seconds remaining that pushed the margin out of reach.
The final quarter was a tension-packed back-and-forth affair. LSU scored on four straight layups late—two by Flau’jae Johnson—to pull within a point and force a timeout with 3: 44 to play, but the visitors never surrendered the lead after that timeout. The decisive swing came in the final minute when LSU could not convert at the stripe and South Carolina converted in the paint.
Stat line and missed opportunities define the night
Flau’jae Johnson led the Tigers with 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds; Mikaylah Williams added 11 points. But LSU’s efficiency issues loomed large: the Tigers missed 10 layups and nine free throws, squandered second-chance opportunities and couldn’t consistently punish South Carolina inside.
For South Carolina, the guard duo carried the load. Tessa Johnson scored 21 points while Raven Johnson added 19, combining for 40 points and more than half their team's output. Madina Okot recorded a double-double with 12 points and 17 rebounds, a physical presence that helped the visitors control the glass down the stretch. Joyce Edwards chipped in 10 points and provided a consistent inside threat throughout the night.
Game flow and what’s next for the Tigers
LSU opened strong, carrying a 21-16 lead out of the first quarter, but couldn’t sustain momentum. Despite leading for only 4: 09 in the first half, the Gamecocks flipped a five-point deficit into a 41-40 halftime advantage. South Carolina’s hot second quarter from long range—hitting five of nine threes in that period—offset LSU’s intermittent bursts. The Tigers battled in the third but saw the visitors enter the fourth with a 60-55 edge.
The Maravich Center hosted an electric crowd of about 13, 200 on Saturday, and the atmosphere matched the stakes in this top-10 showdown. Still, the final margin was decided by execution in a few critical moments rather than a sustained team advantage; LSU repeatedly cut into the lead but left too many points unclaimed at the rim and at the free-throw line.
LSU now turns its attention to its next SEC test on Thursday, a road trip to Oxford where the Tigers will face Ole Miss at 9: 00 p. m. ET. The team will need improved finishing around the basket and cleaner work at the charity stripe if it hopes to rebound and remain in the league’s upper tier.
Coaching staffs on both sides will walk away with clear lessons: the visitors can rely on backcourt firepower and interior toughness, while LSU must sharpen its fundamentals in late-game situations to turn close losses into wins. For LSU women's basketball, the challenge is immediate—convert those marginal moments into momentum before the postseason push intensifies.
