Chelsea Reinhardt
BATON ROUGE, La. – In its final non-conference bout before opening up Southeastern Conference action, the fifth-ranked LSU women’s basketball team defeated Alabama State, 109-41, Sunday afternoon inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
With the victory, LSU finished its non-conference slate with an undefeated 14-0 record and improved its current winning streak to 14. With the loss, Alabama State dropped to 3-8 on the year. LSU’s unblemished record in the non-conference marked the third time under Coach Kim Mulkey finished undefeated against non-SEC opponents in the regular season.
LSU returns to action on New Year’s Day for the start of SEC play when it hosts the Kentucky Wildcats at 7 p.m. CT inside the Maravich Center. The contest will be streamed on SEC Network + and can be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network with Patrick Wright and Shaeeta Williams calling the action.
The Tigers shot 52.4% (44-of-84) from the field and converted on 19-of-27 free throw attempts on the afternoon. LSU scored 100-plus points for the 10th time out of 14 contests in the non-conference slate.
Sophomore forward Kate Koval led the LSU scoring attack against the Lady Hornets, finishing with a double-double that consisted of 23 points and 11 points. Koval went 8-of-15 from the field and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe, as she drew a team-high nine fouls. Her performance culminated in the seventh double-double of her career and her fifth this season.
Junior MiLaysia Fulwiley was all over the court for the Tigers, recording five points and six rebounds. The 6-2 guard, however, nearly garnered her first double-double with a career high of 11 assists and eight steals, which matched her career high from the Tigers’ win at Tulane. The last time an LSU player had 10-plus assists was on Jan. 1, 2023, when Alexis Morris tallied 12 against Vanderbilt.
In addition to Koval, four other LSU players had double figures in scoring, including senior Amiya Joyner (19), freshman ZaKiyah Johnson (17), freshman Bella Hines (13) and junior Mikaylah Williams (11).
LSU forced the Lady Hornets into 36 turnovers, which signaled the first time the Tigers have forced at least 35 turnovers since LSU’s win over McNeese State on Dec. 12, 2023. LSU also forced 36 turnovers on that day.
LSU’s back-to-back contests with 30-plus turnovers forced was the first instance it recorded 30-plus turnovers in consecutive games since the Tigers’ wins against Texas Southern and Niagara on Nov. 20 and Nov. 24, respectively, in 2023.
LSU jumped out to an 8-2 lead before the Lady Hornets decided to call their first timeout of the game. Joyner opened the scoring with a made layup. ASU broke its scoring seal to make it 4-2, but LSU responded with a 24-4 run to close out the first quarter with a 28-6 advantage.
Coming out of the break, LSU continued to build on its large lead by scoring in bunches and outscored the opponent 25-8 in the second quarter. Joyner began with two made free throws and senior Flau’jae Johnson followed up with a made layup. Through the first half, freshman ZaKiyah led the Tigers’ scoring attack with 15 points.
LSU led 53-14 by the end of the opening two quarters.
In the back half of the contest, LSU scored 56 points to Alabama State’s 27 courtesy of Koval and Joyner’s strong second half. The duo in the post combined to score 42 points throughout the entire matchup which featured 31 in the second half alone.
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