LSU Athletics
BATON ROUGE, La. – In its annual Play4Kay game, the sixth-ranked LSU women’s basketball team downed the Arkansas Razorbacks, 92-70, Thursday night inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center as six Tigers reached double figures en route to the win.
With the victory, LSU earned its sixth-straight win, improving its record to 20-2 overall and 6-2 in the Southeastern Conference. With the loss, Arkansas dropped to 11-11 on the year and 0-7 in league play.
Coach Kim Mulkey, who coached in her 900th career game against Arkansas, officially has another 20-win season. Currently in her 26th season as a Division I head coach, Mulkey has accumulated an overall record of 774-126, including her 142-22 record at LSU. She is the second winningest coach by winning percentage all-time and among active head coaches.
LSU returns to action Sunday, Feb. 1, to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Maravich Center. The contest is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network with Tiffany Greene (pxp) and Carolyn Peck (analyst) calling the action. Fans can also tune into the LSU Sports Radio Network with Patrick Wright and Shaeeta Williams on the call.
LSU’s dynamic duo in senior Flau’jae Johnson and junior Mikaylah Williams paced the Tigers with 17 points each. Johnson finished with two rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. Williams, in comparison, tallied five rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
Joining Johnson and Williams, four other Tigers scored in double figures including freshman Grace Knox (12), sophomore Jada Richard (12), sophomore Kate Koval (12) and freshman ZaKiyah Johnson (11).
Koval recorded her sixth double-double of the season and the eighth of her career by bringing down a season-high 15 rebounds.
LSU outrebounded Arkansas by 22 (56-34) and recorded 23 assists on 39 made buckets in 85 attempts (45.9%). The Tigers were 6-of-15 (40%) from behind the arc and converted on 8-of-14 (57.1%) free throws. LSU garnered 30 more paint points than its opponent recording 50 points in the post.
LSU got the scoring started with a layup from Knox, but Arkansas responded with six made buckets on nine attempts to start the contest. The Razorbacks were able to obtain the 15-10 lead at the media timeout off of three three-pointers in addition to the six made buckets. The Tigers battled back to tie the ballgame at 22 with all points for the remainder of the quarter coming from bench players.
In the second quarter, both teams got off to a sluggish start offensively as each team combined to make five shots out of 19 attempts. After taking the 28-27 lead with a layup from Richard, both teams went on a scoring drought of 2:12 until Williams knocked down a jumper with 4:11 remaining in the half.
LSU would take a 36-33 advantage into the locker room. Williams was the Tigers’ leading scorer at the break with eight points, connecting on 4-of-9 field goal attempts.
Coming out of the half, LSU started out with a 7-0 run pushing the lead to 12 and forcing Arkansas to take an early timeout two minutes into the quarter. By the period’s media timeout, LSU led 54-39 halfway through the quarter. The home squad would outscore the visitors 15-9 down the stretch of the third quarter, holding the 69-50 edge going to the fourth quarter.
Both teams played score for score in the fourth quarter as LSU dropped 23 to Arkansas’ 20 in the period. LSU closed out the game with the 92-70 victory.
