No. 6 LSU Women’s Basketball Welcomes No. 3 South Carolina For Prime-Time Showdown

BATON ROUGE, La. – In a highly-anticipated matchup on Valentine’s Day, the sixth-ranked LSU women’s basketball team will face third-ranked South Carolina Saturday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU will host South Carolina on Saturday in a prime-time matchup that will be televised on ABC for the first time in women's college basketball history. The contest between the Tigers and Gamecocks will mark the 44th meeting overall with LSU holding the slight 22-21 advantage. South Carolina has won the past 17 matchups with LSU last defeating South Carolina in 2012 (1/12/2012 – W, 58-48 in Baton Rouge).

Prior to South Carolina's current winning streak, LSU won 22 out of the first 26 contests dating back to 1992. When both teams face off in the Maravich Center, LSU holds the series lead, 12-8.

LSU’s matchup against South Carolina will be the featured game on February 14 on ABC at 7:30 p.m. CT inside the PMAC. The game will occur on a Saturday, marking the first time the Tigers have played on a Saturday since 2005 when LSU defeated No. 17 Georgia, 76-52, as the top-ranked team in the country.

The contest will feature ESPN's top announcers with Ryan Ruocco (pxp), Rebecca Lobo (analyst) and Holly Rowe (reporter) calling the action. February 14 marks the first time a women’s basketball game has aired in the Saturday primetime spot on ABC.

ESPN’s College GameDay will be in town as the show will air live on ABC starting at 7 p.m. CT and is also available on the ESPN App, leading into the tip between both squads at 7:40 p.m. This will be the second time the Tigers have hosted Gameday, with the last time coming in 2024 against South Carolina. Christine Williamson is set to host the pregame show, alongside women’s basketball analysts Andraya Carter and Chiney Ogwumike.

After eclipsing 1,900 points against No. 4 Texas and becoming the 7th LSU Tiger to eclipse that milestone, senior guard Flau'jae Johnson inches closer to the 2,000-point mark. With 1,900 points, Johnson joined the likes of Joyce Walker (2,906), Seimone Augustus (2,702), Julie Gross (2,488), Cornelia Gayden (2,451), Sylvia Fowles (2,234) and Khayla Pointer (1,934). Johnson is 90 points away from joining five LSU legends as 2,000-point scorers. Johnson ranks 13th among active D1 players in points scored with 1,910.

Through 25 games, LSU has averaged 96.6 points per game, which leads the nation. That mark would break the SEC record in scoring average set by Georgia in 1986 (32 games; 2,855 points, 89.2 average). The Tigers through its 24 contests have scored 2,415 points.

Most recently, freshman ZaKiyah Johnson paced LSU with 16 points lifting the Tigers to a 77-44 victory over the Auburn Tigers at Neville Arena. ZaKiyah, in addition to her 16 points, had eight rebounds and one block. Joining ZaKiyah in double figures were seniors Flau’jae Johnson (10) and Amiya Joyner (10) and junior Mikaylah Williams (12). Joyner tallied 10 rebounds on top of her 10 points, collecting the 49th double-double of her career and her eighth of the season.

LSU's final five game stretch in SEC play includes two road games (Ole Miss, Mississippi State) and three home games (South Carolina, Missouri, Tennessee). In the current AP Top 25, three teams are ranked.

LSU leads the country in 3 statistical categories: bench points per game (40.6), rebound margin (18.9), and scoring offense (96.6).

(Release via LSU Athletics)