The LSU women’s basketball team woke up early on Saturday for a road test against Tennessee. The Tigers played fast-paced and weren’t afraid to shoot the three-ball as Kim Mulkey’s team distanced themselves in the second quarter. LSU held their lead in the second half and improved to 24-4 and 11-3 in conference play with the 75-60 win over the Volunteers.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Tennessee took the early lead as Richea Jackson made the game’s first basket, then Sara Puckett got the offensive rebound and backed up to make a three-pointer in front of the LSU bench. Mikayla Williams knocked down two straight, including a three that was assisted by Angel Reese.
Mid-range jumpers by Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow put LSU up by four but Tennessee went on a 7-2 run to tie the game at 14 as Jackson and Jillian Hollingshead each made jumpers while Tess Darby knocked down a three after Last-Tear Poa made one downtown from the left-wing.
Williams and Jackson made mid-range shots with under two and a half minutes to go but Van Lith made a three from the top of the key with seven seconds to go as LSU was up 19-16 at the end of the first quarter.
The Tigers started to distance themselves from the Volunteers in the second quarter. Van Lith made the team’s fourth three-pointer thirty seconds into the quarter while Reese and Williams made jumpers. Tennesee made back-to-back shots but Aalyah Del Rosario checked into the game and made the and-one layup to put the Tigers up seven with 6:11 to go.
Morrow ended a three-minute scoring drought while Flau’jae Johnson’s jumper and Reese’s free throw put LSU up 12 with 1:49 left in the first half. After free throws by Van Lith and Jewel Spear, LSU got five offensive rebounds in the same possession as Morrow made the put-back layup at the 14-second mark and blocked Spear’s layup on the final possession as the Tigers headed into the half up 38-26.
Jackson started the second half hot with six points in the first three minutes as she made a layup for the first points of the third quarter. Reese, Van Lith, and Johnson all scored in the paint but so did Powell and the other layup by Jackson at the 6:58 mark cut the LSU lead down to 10.
That layup sparked a 13-4 Tennessee run throughout the rest of the period. Hollingshead and Darby each made a layup, and then Darby hit the right wing three. Van Lith made her fifth shot and Reese made one from the charity stripe but the Tigers headed into the fourth quarter with only a three-point lead.
Even with layups by Williams and Johnson, Tamari Key made it a two-point game twice with shots in the paint and a free throw by Jackson. Van Lith then caught fire with a couple of three-pointers that Williams assisted on and made a few mid-range shots.
At that time Van Lith was on fire, Williams, Reese, Key, Puckett, and Powell made shots but LSU was up 68-57 after Van Lith made her final shot. Johnson’s and-one layup off a Williams miss and Reese’s layup put the Tigers up 16 with under three minutes to go in the game.
Spear made one more with 40 seconds left and Van Lith had a pair from the charity stripe as LSU came out on top 75-60, improving to 24-4 and 11-3 in SEC play.
BIG NUMBER: 27
The LSU Tigers found themselves in a close game heading into the fourth quarter after scoring the fewest amount of points in a quarter all season. Hailey Van Lith and company responded well with 27 points in the fourth compared to 15 points by Tennessee as the Tigers came out on top 75-60.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Hailey Van Lith
Van Lith was on fire early Sunday morning and was critical for LSU’s success in the fourth quarter with 12 points and 26 points (season-high) for the game on 9-18 shooting and 4-5 from three-point range. Also, the senior transfer grabbed seven boards and assisted three shots in the win.
UP NEXT: The LSU women’s basketball team will stay on the road next Thursday to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. Tip-off in Stegemen Coliseum is set for 8:00 p.m. on February 29th and the action can be heard on Mustang 107.1.
