GREENVILLE — MiLaysia Fulwiley is all too familiar with playing basketball in South Carolina.
The LSU junior guard and former Gamecock proved it on March 6. She scored 22 points with eight assists in a 112-78 victory over Oklahoma in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Fulwiley should hope all her familiarity will pay off on March. 7, as the No. 4 seed Tigers (27-4) will take on No.1 seed South Carolina (30-2) in the semifinals (4:30 p.m., ESPN).
“It’s the next game, it’s a new game for us,” Fulwiley said about playing her former team for the second time this season. “Same mindset, got to go out there and do what we need to do.”
Fulwiley was a standout guard at Keenan High School in Columbia. If anything, playing back in her home state is still advantageous for her — even if she’s in a white and purple jersey.
“It feels good coming back here. I played here in high school, and it meant a lot to me,” Fulwiley said. “I won a lot of games here, it’s just great to be here. Plus, I get to see my family. It was nice, I always enjoy seeing them.”
Fulwiley won a national championship with South Carolina in 2024 as a freshman but less than a month after losing in the title game to UConn as a sophomore, Fulwiley transferred to LSU.
South Carolina beat LSU 79-72 on Feb. 14 in Baton Rouge. Fulwiley went 1-of-8 from the field and finished with six points in her first game against her old team. Fulwiley leads the Tigers in scoring at 14.3 points per game.
“I don’t remember that,” Fulwiley said. “I’m a new player. It’s a new mindset right now.”
LSU coach Kim Mulkey said she doesn’t need to say anything to Fulwiley about playing South Carolina.
“Nope,” Mulkey said. “I won’t say anything to her. She’s excited to be home. You don’t have to say anything to Lay (MiLaysia). She’s going to make spectacular plays, then she might make a play that’ll have you wanting to pull your hair out the next minute. But you let her play.
“She’s already played against them this year. So, she knows what to expect. We’ll just do film work, and go over all the ways we can beat South Carolina.”
Kamryn Jackson covers high school and college sports for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Greenville News, Anderson Independent Mail, and the USA TODAY Network. Please email her at [email protected] and follow her on X @KamxJack (formerly Twitter).
