The challenges keep growing for the 13th ranked LSU women’s basketball team.

After opening SEC play with wins over No. 13 Georgia and No. 23 Texas A&M, the Tigers (14-1, 2-0 SEC) host No. 1 South Carolina (13-1, 1-1) Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

“We look at it as a tremendous challenge,” said LSU first-year coach Kim Mulkey, whose team has won 13 straight games. “But we also look at it as a tremendous opportunity. Just do what you do and if it’s not good enough, you hope you walk off that floor saying, they had to play to beat us.

“I feel like this group I get to coach, they’re giving the fans, they’re giving the community, they’re giving everything they have. I don’t expect it to be any different Thursday. Let’s hope it’s good enough.”

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said Wednesday she will be missing some players against LSU.

She declined to name the players, but South Carolina played short-handed Sunday vs. Mississippi State. Reserves LeLe Grissett, Saniya Rivers, Laeticia Amihere and Olivia Thompson were virus protocols. Amihere, usually the first player off the bench, is averaging 7.2 points and is third on the team in steals (14) and blocks (17). Grissett has missed the last three games as part of virus protocols.

LSU’s veteran-filled lineup is led by grad student Khayla Pointer (17.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists per game), who nearly recorded her second triple-double of the season in Sunday’s win over Texas A&M with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.

Junior transfer Alexis Morris, who scored a career-high vs, A&M and Jailin Cherry, who scored all of her game-total 10 points in the fourth quarters against the Aggies, round out LSU’s backcourt.

South Carolina backcourt features preseason All-American Zia Cooke and Brea Beal. Point guard Destanni Henderson who is No. 2 in the SEC with 5.3 assists per game.

“We can’t allow them to dribble-penetrate all day,” Mulkey said. “We can’t allow them to get a lot of transition layups all day. We’ve got to make them beat us in the half court.”

The battle between the LSU and South Carolina bigs should be something to behold.

South Carolina has the No. 2 rebounding margin in the country at +16.3 while LSU is No. 10 in the country at +11.7.

LSU’s bigs of Faustine Aifuwa, Hannah Gusters and Autumn Newby square off against South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, a national Player of the Year candidate averaging 16.9 points and 10.4 rebounds.

Boston’s help includes Kamilla Cardoso, Amihere (if she passes COVID protocols) and Victaria Saxton.

“You’ve got to rebound the ball, you’ve got to be physical,” Mulkey said of the Gamecocks’ front line. “That’s the biggest thing right now. They’re (LSU’s bigs) are going to have to defend people bigger than them.”

South Carolina has two wins over teams that were ranked No. 2 when they played in UCONN and Stanford. The Gamecocks’ only loss was in their SEC opener at Missouri when the Tigers made a lay-up as time expired in overtime.

“We’re very aware of the fact that they’re the No. 1 team in the country,” Mulkey said. “They’re supposed to win the league. They’re supposed to win the national championship.

“We understand that, but we also understand that if we win the game we still haven’t arrived yet. If we lose the game, the sky is not going to fall in. We’ve got a lot of basketball in this league left to play and our goals will remain the same.”

Prior to the game, LSU will honor Seimone Augustus on the court in recognition of her WNBA retirement as a player which she announced last May. Fans wishing to see that should be in their seats by 6:50 p.m.

Also, former LSU baseball and current Houston Astros star Alex Bregman will also be in attendance and the Tigers will recognize him at halftime of Thursday’s game.

There are $1 general admission tickets available at the LSU Ticket Office for healthcare workers and first responders.