The LSU Tigers (4-1) defeated the Southeastern Lady Lions (1-2) 73-50 at the Pride Roofing University Center on Friday night.
Guard Flau’jae Johnson posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 boards off the bench for the Tigers in 29 minutes of action.
With only a nine-point lead at halftime, LSU outscored SLU 33-19 for the remainder of the game. Guard Hailey Van Lith poured in 12 points on five of eight shooting in the second half to aid the scoring outburst.
Guard Aneesah Morrow joined Johnson with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, while guard Mikaylah Williams added 13 points.
As for the Green and Gold, freshman forward Kennedy Paul and senior guard Hailey Giaratano dropped 12 apiece. Overall, SLU shot just 38% from the field and 31.3% from three.
The rough night continued as the Tigers outmuscled the Lady Lions on the boards 44-29 and forced 18 turnovers, leading to 23 points for LSU.
“They were crashing the offensive boards, 17 offensive rebounds kills any team. On the flip side, we turned the ball over 18 times and it’s uncharacteristic for us. We’re not the type of team to turn the ball over. When we turned the ball over, they got transition points,” Head Coach Ayla Guzzardo said.
It was a back-and-forth game between the ball clubs through the first five minutes. Giaratano’s jumper from the right wing at the 4:51 mark made the score 11-10 in LSU’s favor. Sophomore guard Jen Pierre scored five out of the 10 points for the Lady Lions.
With every point scored, the crowd of 7,500 people erupted with cheers. The energy throughout the game was contagious with every score between the two reigning champs.
SLU won the program’s first Southland Conference tournament title last season while LSU captured its first national title in school history.
In the remainder of the first quarter, the Tigers scored nine straight points to extend their lead to 20-10, which was capped off by free throws from guard Last-Tear Poa with 1:13 left.
LSU extended its lead to as much as 12 points in the second quarter, but Southeastern kept pace and made it a nine-point game with 28 seconds left after a Giaratano jumper.
The third quarter saw an explosion of offense from LSU. They outscored the Lady Lions 22-7 in the period while shooting 43% from the field. In contrast, the Green and Gold shot a disappointing 22.2% in the third quarter and went eight minutes and 30 seconds without scoring a single point.
Junior guard Taylor Bell recorded the first points for SLU after their drought. Bell hit a tough, contested floater, then proceeded to hit a corner three on Southeastern’s next possession. But, the lead was still astronomical at 61-38.
LSU maintained its lead in the fourth and ended the game with a 23-point victory.
“We’ll build on this game like we do every game. Win or lose, we learn from it and go back and watch film. We’ll make sure to correct those mistakes. LSU played us a lot differently compared to other teams, so we’re going to make those adjustments,” Guzzardo said.
Southeastern (2-3) lost to Jackson State (3-0) 63-54 at the Pride Roofing University Center earlier today. SLU will have four days off before hosting Mobile in Hammond on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 1 p.m.
For more information and coverage of Lady Lions basketball, visit The Lion’s Roar.
