LSU women’s basketball pulled off one of the biggest flips during the spring transfer portal window by securing a commitment from MiLaysia Fulwiley.
The guard heads to Baton Rouge after two seasons at South Carolina where she won a national championship and two SEC Tournament titles. Seeing the majority of her minutes off the bench, Fulwiley averaged 11.7 points and shot over 42% from the field in each of those seasons.
Heading into her junior year, Fulwiley aims to carve out a starting role on head coach Kim Mulkey’s team alongside Flau’Jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams. Her craftiness off the dribble in half court sets and in transition will fit with the Tigers’ fast pace of play.
Coming from an SEC school, Fulwiley faced off against LSU three times through her two seasons with the Gamecocks. She came out on the winning side of each contest, one of which was in the SEC championship.
Here is how Fulwiley performed in each of her prior matchups with LSU.
2022-23 regular season at LSU
In her first game against LSU, then the reigning national champions, Fulwiley scored eight points. She knocked down three of her six attempts from the field and drained two three-pointers as South Carolina mounted a second half comeback inside the PMAC to win 76-70.
In one of her lower scoring games, Fulwiley played behind Raven Johnson and Te-Hina Paopoa, both of whom scored in double figures. She was one of four substitutes for head coach Dawn Staley’s team against the Tigers.
2023 SEC Championship
In what will be remembered as a heated back-and-forth contest, South Carolina prevailed over LSU 79-72 to claim the SEC Tournament title. Fulwiley led all scorers with a career-high 24 points on eight of 12 shooting from the field. She also made four of her five attempts from deep.
Women’s basketball fans will likely remember this performance from Fulwiley as the one that put her on the map of future stars. She propelled her team to victory as LSU couldn’t come up with an answer to defending the freshman phenom.
2023-24 regular season at South Carolina
Last season, South Carolina pulled away in the second half of a competitive contest to win 66-56 over LSU. Fulwiley saw almost 15 minutes of action off the bench and scored eight points against her future team.
Perhaps Fulwiley’s biggest impact was felt on the defensive end. She came away with three steals and two defensive rebounds against the Tigers. In a game where she shot two of 11 from the field and scored four of her points from the foul line, she found other ways to make an impact.