Angel Reese and LSU women's basketball fell short of their goal to win the 2024 SEC tournament title, as they suffered a 79-72 defeat at the hands of the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday. But even though LSU lost, it did not show in the confidence Reese still carried after the contest. She even sent a strong message to South Carolina.

“We not going to make that an excuse,” the LSU women's basketball star told reporters after the loss in the conference title game (h/t Cory Diaz of the Lafayette Daily Advertiser).

“We're not scared of South Carolina. I'm going to repeat that. We're not scared of South Carolina. A lot of people are scared of them. We came in and battled and battled and battled till the end. Of course, we came up short,” she added.

Reese put up a solid effort in the South Carolina game, as he mustered a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds to go with two assists in 34 minutes of action. Aneesah Morrow, meanwhile, paced LSU women's basketball with 19 points along with 10 rebounds in 40 minutes.

LSU women's basketball was shorthanded with only nine active players and played just seven of them. Reese must be feeling that at full strength, the Tigers are going to be good enough to overcome South Carolina, which also won the SEC tournament title back in 2023.

“I'm happy where we are right now,” Reese also said. “Anybody seeing us moving forward should be scared.”

The No. 8 LSU women's basketball will now be preparing for the Big Dance, which they won a year ago by defeating Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the championship game.