The defending champions and the unbeaten LSU Tigers are up for one big test this Thursday. The South Carolina Gamecocks have had a solid start to the SEC run with a 29-point win margin and an 18-1 record overall. “A tremendous challenge,” Kim Mulkey calls it, despite her own perfect record so far into the season. However, difficult weather conditions have been enough to force her mind off the game, even obliging a change in schedule.

Weather reports have warned of a snowstorm in Louisiana from Monday evening till Wednesday morning, with an expected 8″ of snow in Baton Rouge. “I can’t even think about South Carolina. I have to think about snow and ice when I get home,” Mulkey expresses. The barrage of snow has altered the Tigers’ travel schedule to Columbia.

Originally set to fly post their game against Florida, LSU will now wait until Wednesday afternoon to take off. It is a hiccup the Tigers would have liked to avoid, given the challenge road games can prove to be. “Any victory on the road in our league is an accomplishment,” the head coach says. “But we know what we face next, a tremendous challenge to play the defending champions and do it at their place.” 

As per a spokesperson, the Tigers, originally planned to take their Monday off and rest Tuesday, were forced into the opposite. It may have been a clever move by Mulkey & Co. as they head into the gigantic matchup.

The Gamecocks sit atop the table with six wins, while the Tigers follow close in second. LSU vs South Carolina will hand either team their first loss of the conference, and it will be interesting to see who.

Kim Mulkey vs Staley, a lot on the line

There’s a lot to prove for both coaches in Thursday’s South Carolina vs LSU match up. After Dawn Staley’s legendary contract extension, both parties must look to assert dominance. Interestingly, before Staley, it was the Tiger’s coach who held the crown for the highest paid in NCAAW. The LSU coach is earning over three and a half million dollars per year with additional incentives as well. Dawn Staley, on the other hand, is now earning just under five million dollars a year, with a $250,000 ladder each year.

But it isn’t all about the coaches.

The top-two seeded teams having a game isn’t something to scoff at. The winner of the matchup will end up a frontrunner for the SEC regular-season title. The LSU leads the all time series 22-20 but South Carolina has won the past two times. The last one came during the 2023-24 SEC Tournament championship, with Gamecocks securing a 79-72 win in the final minutes.

But the Tigers look different now, with Annesah Morrow and Flau’Jae Johnson averaging 18.7 and 20 points, respectively. Ranked no. 6 and 4 in the conference, they are the highest scoring guards the Gamecocks are to face this season. While they might have an answer in Bree Hall and Raven Johnson’s defensive effort, it all comes down to the showdown on Thursday.

The game tips off at 7 pm CT.