FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 6 LSU (16-0, 1-0 SEC) opened SEC play with a resounding 98-64 win at Arkansas (7-9, 0-1 SEC) Thursday night in Bud Walton Arena.
“I could tell quickly that we were clicking on all cylinders,” Coach Kim Mulkey said. “A lot of that had to do with our transition offense and long rebounds that gave everyone the green light down the court.”
Aneesah Morrow earned her 14th double-double of the season with an 11 point, 10 rebound showing. It was also her 88th career double-double, tied for the fourth most in NCAA DI history.
Flau’jae Johnson logged her 4th double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kailyn Gilbert posted 16 points on 7-12 shooting in 18 minutes of action and Mikaylah Williams scored 14 points and tacked on 2 rebounds and 1 steal.
Last-Tear Poa was effective too, going 3-4 for her first threes of the season and scoring 9 points with 6 assists. Jersey Wolfenbarger, going up against her former team, scored 8 points with 5 rebounds. LSU was proactive throughout its whole roster Thursday night as all 12 players who were available scored.
“I was very impressed with Poa,” Coach Mulkey said. “We didn’t expect them to guard Poa and we thought they would double down on Morrow which they did, but Poa gained some confidence back tonight by hitting some shots.”
Arkansas was led by Izzy Higginbottom, who scored a game-high 27 points on 10-21 shooting. Vera Ojenuwa paced the Razorbacks with 8 rebounds. Arkansas shot just 36-percent and 31-percent from deep.
Williams opened the scoring for LSU in its first conference test. The Tigers jumped out to an early 7-0 lead over the Razorbacks after starting the contest an efficient 3-5 from the field. LSU expanded its lead to double digits at 12-2 after Last-Tear Poa connected on her first three pointer of the season. The Arkansas offense strung together scoring possessions to go on an 8-0 run late in the first quarter. LSU maintained production on the offensive end of the floor to end the first quarter with a 23-14 lead over the Razorbacks. Wolfenbarger led the Tigers in scoring with 6 points on 3-4 shooting in the first quarter. LSU was stifling on the defensive side and forced 7 Arkansas turnovers in the opening period.
Sa’Myah Smith got the Tigers started with a mid-range jumper to open the second quarter. LSU started the second period with a 9-4 scoring run and held Arkansas to a 2-5 shooting mark to begin the quarter. Williams connected on a pull up three pointer to put the Tigers up 37-22 midway through the second. LSU held Arkansas scoreless in the last 4 minutes of the half to take a commanding 51-26 lead at halftime. The Tigers saw offensive contribution from all around the lineup, as six players finished the half with 6 or more points. LSU was also efficient from three point range in the first half, shooting 5-9 from beyond the arc. The Tigers were able to capitalize off of the 13 forced turnovers with 19 points coming from the defensive stops. LSU thrived on the fastbreak in the first half, as the Tigers scored 18 points on the break compared to Arkansas’ zero.
Morrow and Johnson both connected on buckets to kick off the second half for the Tigers. Poa connected on her third three pointer of the game to extend the LSU lead to 30 points with 7 minutes remaining in the third quarter. LSU continued its dominance all throughout the third quarter, as the Tigers shot 7-11 in the first 5 minutes of the quarter and out rebounded the Razorbacks 7-1. LSU’s third quarter offensive barrage was led by Johnson, who scored 7 points on 2-3 shooting and grabbed 3 rebounds in the process. The Tigers outscored the Razorbacks 32-10 in the third quarter to take an 83-36 lead with one quarter to play. LSU held Arkansas to 4-16 shooting in the third quarter and forced 7 turnovers. The Tiger offense was efficient yet again with a 12-21 shooting mark in the third quarter to expand on the commanding lead.
Both Morrow and Johnson earned double-doubles in the beginning of the fourth quarter, with Morrow earning her 14th double-double of the season. Arkansas went on an 11-1 run in the fourth quarter to attempt a comeback, but LSU’s lead proved to be too much for the Razorbacks. The Tigers continued to produce on the offensive end to maintain a strong lead in the fourth quarter. LSU was able to steady the ship in the final quarter to play to reach the final score of 98-64.
**LSU Press Release
