'We are so close': LSU loses to South Carolina for 19th consecutive time despite halftime lead in SEC semis

LSU suffered an 83-77 loss to South Carolina in the SEC semifinals on Saturday, marking the Tigers' 19th consecutive loss to the Gamecocks. Despite many close encounters, LSU has not defeated South Carolina since 2012.

"It takes time to lay that foundation," Mulkey said postgame. "Man, has (Dawn Staley) laid it. And, man, are they good...I've been at LSU five years. We won a national championship, we've been to numerous Elite Eights. It takes time. And man, we are just clawing and trying our best. And I think we are doing pretty good. We are so close."

Mulkey beat Staley twice when she was at Baylor, but she is 0-7 against Staley as the LSU head coach. The Tigers had a very real chance during the regular season, but missed free throws late in the game ended up being costly.

The Tigers were looking to redeem themselves this week, and their first-half effort looked promising. LSU entered the break with a 40-36 advantage in a fast-paced game. However, South Carolina stole the momentum, thanks primarily to Raven Johnson scoring 12 points in the third quarter.

LSU didn't let the Gamecocks pull away too much and was still very much in it during the fourth quarter. With 45 seconds remaining, the Tigers were only down by five points and had two fouls to give. Mulkey said postgame that the plan was to foul, but it just didn't get done.

"There is just a small margin of error that you can have to beat elite teams," Mulkey said. "We think we are an elite team, but we are not there to win those close games against the South Carolinas, the UConns. That margin of error are little things like that. We had two fouls to give. We were going to for a steal right there, quick trap. You don't get it, we use one of the fouls. We just, I don't want to say lose our composure, but we just don't do it."

South Carolina had four players in double figures, with Raven Johnson's career-high 22 points leading the way. One bright spot for LSU was MiLaysia Fulwiley, a South Carolina native, scoring a season-high 24 points against her former team and in front of her family.

Despite the loss, this was a good redemption game for Fulwiley, as she went 1 of 8 from the field and only scored six points during their regular season meeting, which LSU lost 79-72.

Jada Richard was another top contributor for LSU with 17 points, 11 of those coming in the second half. Mikaylah Williams also stood out as she registered 14 points and 7 rebounds. However, it was a rough night for Flau'jae Johnson, who only scored six points while going 1 of 8 from the field.

LSU is still in a good spot for the NCAA Tournament as the Tigers are still a projected No. 2 seed, which would be the best seeding for the program in the Mulkey era.

South Carolina is set to compete in its seventh consecutive SEC tournament championship game on Sunday. They will be chasing their fourth consecutive title, which would make SEC history.