Report: LSU women's hoops on brink of scoring rare win over SEC rival

Despite winning two of the past three women's college basketball national titles, the recent head-to-head battle between LSU and South Carolina has been one-sided in favor of the Gamecocks. 

Per a recent report, the Tigers could be close to scoring a rare win in the budding rivalry between SEC elites.

According to On3's Talia Goodman, LSU is predicted to add former South Carolina guard MiLaysia Fulwiley from the transfer portal, which would be a significant addition for head coach Kim Mulkey.

The Tigers have lost six players to the portal, including guard Last-Tear Poa, who transferred to Arizona State. LSU must also replace Shayeann Day-Wilson, another ball-handling guard, who played on her last year of college eligibility in 2024-25.

The Connecticut Sun selected forward Aneesah Morrow with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.

Fulwiley, a five-star high-school recruit in the 2023 class, is a two-time All-SEC Tournament selection and was the 2024-25 SEC Sixth-Woman of the Year.

She averaged 11.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, two assists and 1.5 steals in 18.9 minutes per game in 39 games coming off the bench.

On April 17, Fulwiley announced her decision to enter the transfer portal in a social media post.

If Fulwiley joins the Tigers, she'll form a dynamic backcourt with fellow rising junior guard Mikaylah Williams, the 2023-24 SEC Rookie of the Year, and 2024-25 Associated Press third-team All-America guard Flau'jae Johnson.

Last season, Williams averaged 17.3 points per game while shooting 46.5%, including 38.6% from beyond the arc. Johnson scored 18.6 points per game, shooting 46.8% (38.3% on three-point attempts).

Earlier this offseason, the Tigers added to their frontcourt by signing former Notre Dame 6-foot-5 forward Kate Koval and former East Carolina 6-foot-2 forward Amiya Joyner out of the portal.

Koval, a 2024-25 freshman, appeared in 32 games (10 starts) and averaged 5.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Joyner led the American Athletic Conference in rebounds per game (10) in 2023-24 and averaged 9.2 last season.

Mulkey has done an excellent job turning the program around since taking over ahead of the 2021-22 season. Despite her success, she's yet to beat Dawn Staley and South Carolina, losing five consecutive games, including the 2024 SEC championship. (h/t Stathead)

Adding Fulwiley could close the gap.

The Gamecocks are coming off a fifth consecutive trip to the Final Four and are 202-13 (.940) since the start of the 2019-20 season. On April 16, Staley officially announced South Carolina added arguably the best player in the transfer portal, former Florida State guard Ta'Niya Latson. Last season, she led the country in scoring (25.2 points per game) and averaged 4.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

LSU hasn't been able to beat South Carolina, so it could be close to doing the next best thing: taking from the Gamecocks.

Would Fulwiley be enough to tip the SEC's power scales? It's too soon to say. But we know it would make next year's meeting between the two programs one of the season's marquee games.