LSU Women dominate opener; Freshman ZaKiyah Johnson shines with Double-Double

BATON ROUGE, La. – The fifth-ranked LSU women’s basketball team defeated Houston Christian in the Tigers’ season opener Tuesday night, 108-55, as freshman guard ZaKiyah Johnson collected her first career double-double at the collegiate level inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU improved its record to 1-0 with the season-opening win, while HCU dropped to 0-1 on the young season.

LSU will return to action on Thursday night against in-state foe Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m. CT in the PMAC. The action can be streamed on SEC Network + with Lyn Rollins and Victor Howell calling the action. Fans can also listen to the action on the LSU Sports Radio Network with Patrick Wright and Shaeeta Williams.

ZaKiyah led the Tigers tonight picking up her first double-double, but LSU was able to spread the ball around with three more Tigers scoring in double figures. Junior MiLaysia Fulwiley paced the offense with 21 points, while Mikaylah Williams had 14, Flau’jae Johnson had 12, and freshman Grace Knox had 10.

“​​You know, I remember that word when I was a player, ‘spark plug,’ and I hated it because I came off the bench for two years,” Coach Kim Mulkey said about Fulwiley’s impact on the game. “‘Oh, she’s a spark plug,’ well, okay, I’m a spark plug, but when am I going to be the engine? So, I’m very careful about how I use that with MiLaysia (Fulwiley) because her skill level and her talent is better than just a spark plug. It’s our job, as she goes into her third year of college, to help her become a complete player, not one that does it in spurts or coming off the bench. The good thing is she’s very unselfish. I also have a team there that’s very unselfish.”

LSU shot 42-of-79 (53.2%) from the floor, as opposed to Houston Christian’s 19-of-50 (38.5%). LSU was a solid 17-of-23 (73.9%) from the free throw line and nearly 7-of-13 (53.8%) from three-point range, as they would go into the half with a 26-point lead, 53-27.

The Tigers tallied 23 steals in the contest, while forcing 33 turnovers overall.

“Defensively I think our mindset is just stopping the ball, guard our men,” Fulwiley said. “Don’t let them score, really, it’s that simple. Just don’t let your men score. And just build pressure when you’re on the ball. Pressure the ball so that it’s hard for them to make passes, entry passes. So I think everybody’s just on the same page with just pressuring the ball and trying to get that steal, but just being disciplined at the same time.”

The contest began with a fast pace like Tiger fans are used to seeing with a Mulkey-coached team. At the first media timeout (4:02, 1Q), LSU jumped out to an 18-7 lead, courtesy of the Tigers’ ability to share the ball. Through the first full timeout, six players scored the ball for LSU led by ZaKiyah (6) and senior Flau’jae (6). The home team held the 26-13 lead at the conclusion of the first quarter.

In the second quarter while a few more shots for HCU began to fall, LSU was able to work on extending its lead heading into the halftime break. The Tigers, led by Williams and senior Kailyn Gilbert in the second period were able to outscore the Huskies by 13, bringing the first half score to 53-27. LSU shot 19-for-40 (47.5%) from the field in the first half and knocked down 12-of-15 (80%) free throws.

LSU began the third quarter with a Fulwiley layup and drawn foul that sparked the offense coming out of the locker room. LSU would go on to outscore the Huskies in the third quarter by a margin of 16, the highest of any quarter. In the fourth period, the Tigers were able to expand their lead to account for the final score of 108-55.

“My take is always going to be this: I never take wins for granted,” Mulkey said. “Watching us play tonight, I saw seniors on my team that realized this is the beginning of the end for their career in college, and you want them to understand you can’t go back and get this game. For the young ones, I want them to remember this game because you will never be a freshman again playing in your very first game. ​​So, there was a lot of emotion there when I thought about the kids I get to coach on this team.”

**Press Release