The Louisiana State University Lady Tigers recently beat the Ole Miss Rebels to advance to the Finals of the SEC Championship. There they will clash against the South Carolina Gamecocks which has been an undefeated team this season. The star-studded teams respectively coached by Kim Mulkey and Dawn Staley will square off in this much-anticipated rematch. 

The match is momentous since both the teams are at their peaks this season and it will be interesting to see which team wins a ticket to the March Madness.

Players to Watch

For Lady Tigers, the main player to watch out for will be their star, Angel Reese. Reese has been a major force behind LSU’s win this season. Even in the previous game, she smashed a double-double.

If Reese gets going, then the chances of Gamecocks winning this high-octane clash will die down. The other player to keep an eye on for LSU is Aneesah Morrow. Morrow has smoked 16.4 points per game with 10 rebounds per match. Therefore, she is a mainstay player after Reese.

Going into this game, Morrow would be keen to establish her dominance, and what better way to do so than keeping Gamecocks on their toes in both offense and defense?

For Dawn Staley’s team, the player to look up to has been their center Kamilla Cardoso. Cardoso has dropped the highest average in points, rebounds and blocks for her team. She has 14.2 points per game with 9.6 rebounds per match.

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She has topped that up with 2.6 blocks per contest. And has been the core force behind South Carolina’s unbeaten record this season. Hopefully, she will once again stand tall to her name in the upcoming match.

Head to Head

Gamecocks played against Lady Tigers in a regular season game this year. With a tough neck-to-neck competition, Staley’s squad had the final laugh as they won the game by a 76-70 margin. This makes for a perfect redemption story for LSU. On the other hand, Gamecocks have their unbeaten record at stake and a direct entry to the March Madness for both teams.

Prediction

The game looks to be equally posed but Gamecocks seem to have an upper hand. No one in this season has been able to exploit Gamecocks’ weakness of not possessing big names whereas LSU have faltered in their defense and offense four times. For their clean record, Gamecocks are the favorites to win this. Whichever team wins, it sure is going to be an exciting match.

Injury Report

As per NOLA.com, LSU guard Mikalyah Williams is nursing a plantar fasciitis. It remains unclear if she will take the court against Gamecocks next.

Similarly, LSU guard Last-Tear Poa had suffered a concussion in the game against Ole Miss Rebels. Though she is expected to be discharged from the hospital before the match, there is no surety of her battling in the Finale. 

Starting Five

LSU Lady Tigers: Angel Reese, Aneesah Morrow, Flau’jae Johnson, Last-Tear Poa, Aaliyah Del Rosario

South Carolina Gamecocks: Chloe Kitts, Kamilla Cardoso, Bree Hall, Raven Johnson, Te-Hina Paopao

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