BATON ROUGE– No. 7 LSU excelled Thursday night against Xavier (N.O.) in its first exhibition 114-53 , as five Tigers scored in double figures.
The Tigers were led in the contest by junior Flau’Jae Johnson who posted a 30 point, 10 rebound double-double in the dominant victory. Johnson was an efficient 13-19 from the field and 2-4 from three point range. Senior forward Aneesah Morrow was also in great form, recording a first double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Morrow was 7-15 from the field and tacked on 5 steals and a team-high 4 assists.
“(Flau’Jae) was phenomenal and I think what you’re seeing from her is comfort,” Mulkey said. “She’s a leader and it’s because she has all the experience and puts in the work. She and Morrow were the most comfortable out there tonight. I’m not surprised either one of them had double-doubles.”
Sophomore Mjracle Sheppard thrived in her debut with the Tigers, posting 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a game-high 6 steals, bringing great energy coming off the bench. Junior forward Jersey Wolfenbarger added 12 points and freshman guard Jada Richard finished with 14 points, including 2-2 from beyond the arc.
“I feel like getting steals and playing defense is a team effort,” Sheppard. If I wasn’t able to depend on my teammates and feed off of their energy, I would not be able to get those steals.”
LSU swarmed the Gold Nuggets on defense, registering 18 steals and one block in the game and held Xavier to 34-percent from the field on the night. Offensively, the Tigers were efficient on the night and shot 58.2 from the field. The Tigers out-rebounded Xavier 46-28 and won the turnover battle 33-15.
LSU returns next Wednesday for its final Exhibition against LSU-Alexandria in the PMAC. The Tigers open their season on November 4 against Eastern Kentucky.
Johnson opened the scoring on the night, making a layup after a steal to give the Tigers the first points of the game.
“I feel like I play my best games when I get an early stop defensively,” Johnson said. “When I get that first steal, I can get going.”
The Tigers then responded with an Morrow jumper after LSU forced a Xavier turnover in the paint. Later in the quarter, Xavier rattled off four straight possessions that ended in points, taking a 10-9 lead. LSU quickly regained the lead, with Johnson, Morrow Wolfenbarger scoring to make the score 20-10 LSU with five minutes to play in the first.
After a timeout, the Tigers came out firing, with Johnson cashing a mid-range jumper on the first possession out of the break. Richard also registered her first collegiate points, with the Lafayette native dropping a three just seconds after checking into the contest to make the score 25-12 Tigers. Senior transfer Shayeann Day-Wilson recorded her first points as a Tiger after draining a pull-up jumpshot from the mid range. LSU stifled Xavier on defense throughout the first period, forcing eight turnovers and holding the opposition to 36 percent from the field and 25 percent from three-point range. On the other side of the ball, LSU was very efficient offensively in the first quarter, as the Tigers shot an impressive 14-21(66.7%) and 3-5 from the 3-point line and ended the first quarter with a 33-13 lead.
Wolfenbarger got the scoring started for the Tigers in the second quarter, making a shifty post move and dropping the layup. Kailyn Gilbert then cashed a pull-up jumper to extend the LSU lead to 35 and also earned her first points as a Tiger. After forcing a Xavier turnover, Sheppard Jada Richard in the paint for an and-1 layup. Sheppard was active on the defensive end, recording four steals in the quarter and pestering Xavier with relentless effort. The Johnson-Morrow connection did not skip a beat, with Johnson connecting with Morrow on a line-breaking pass that led to an easy LSU bucket. After an almost-turnover, center Aalyah Del Rosario hustled for the ball and made an impressive pass to Wolfenbarger for another LSU layup. Johnson then recorded three made jumpers and two free throws in a short span to give the sophomore 18 points in the half. After two quarters, the Tigers led Xavier 68-19. In the half, The Tigers won the rebounding and shooting battle, leading on the glass 23-12 and out shot 28-42 to Xavier’s 6-22.
Wolfenbarger drew a shooting foul in the paint and cashed both free throws to open the half for LSU. Xavier scored on two straight possessions, but the Tigers quickly responded with a Gilbert corner three pointer. After Xavier went on a run that saw the Gold Nuggets go 5-7 and score 17 points, Richard shifted the momentum in the arena with an acrobatic and-1 layup to give the freshman 11 points on the night. Morrow also recorded her tenth rebound of the game in the third quarter to register her first double-double of the season. Xavier outscored LSU in the third quarter 23-21, but the Tigers gained momentum at the end of the period after a Johnson three pointer in the corner.
Johnson kept her hot streak going to begin the fourth by dropping an off-hand layup over a Xavier defender and cashed a mid range jumper just three possessions later to increase her point total on the evening to 30.
