 Photo By: Jonathan Mailhes Da Boot Sports 6/24/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - Kim Mulkey knows how to build a championship caliber team and on Friday she added a huge building block to her 2023 recruiting class as Parkway High school's Mikaylah Williams announced that she will stay in Louisiana and play at LSU. The Shreveport product is the top rated recruit in the nation for the 2023 class as she averaged 22.8 points, 8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals per contest. Williams helped lead her second ranked Parkway team to the Class 5A state championship game this season, but was upset in a double overtime thriller to Ponchatoula, 80-79. When Williams officially signs with LSU she will be the first top ranked player in the nation to play for the Tigers since Seimone Augustus did back in 2002, twenty years ago. Williams will join the nation's #26 ranked player and McDonald's All-American Flaujae Johnson from Marietta, Georgia;.... the Dallas Morning News Player of the Year Sa’Myah Smith from Desoto, Tx;.... All-Texas guard/forward Alisa Williams out of Little Elm, Texas, along with five huge additions through the NCAA transfer portal including NJCAA First Team All-American Last-Tear Poa from Melbourne, Australia;.... one of the top players in the country in All-American Angel Reese who transferred to LSU from Maryland;.... Jasmine Carson, a transfer from West Virginia;.... Kateri Poole from Ohio State;.... and LaDazhia Williams, a transfer from Missouri. 
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Photo By: Jonathan Mailhes
Da Boot Sports
3/31/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - Kim Mulkey was honored on Thursday as the AP Women's National Basketball Coach of the Year. It is the third time she has won the award. Only two other coaches in NCAA history have won the honor three times. She took over a Lady Tigers team that went 9-13 the season before and went 26-6 during her first season, winning their most games since the 2007-08 season. They finished 2nd in the SEC and ended up ranked #9 in the final AP Poll of the season. LSU was 6-1 against ranked opponents in Coach Mulkey’s debut season and the Tigers hosted March Madness games as a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, winning their first NCAA Tournament game since 2014 before falling to Ohio State in the second round. "I'm certainly honored to be in that group." Mulkey said. "This doesn't happen without players who allow you to coach them and buy into a system. We had a really, really good year. You make goals that are realistic such as having a winning season," she said. "Beat your first ranked team, we're going to celebrate that. In conference if we finish in the top half of SEC, we can then potentially get to the NCAA tournament. It sounds so simple, but you have to crawl before you can walk and have to walk before you can run. We were just realistic. I can't name all the things that the team did this year, but it was unbelievable. We were not supposed to do what we did in a year. That's hard to do. This bunch jump-started this program again." Mulkey said. “It gave everybody an interest, and I’m forever grateful to them. Forever.” 
 Photo By: Jonathan Mailhes Da Boot Sports 3/21/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - The 6th seed Ohio State Lady Buckeyes defeated the #3 seed LSU Lady Tigers 79-64 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen in the Spokane Regional on Monday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. It was a tough ending to a wonderful season for the Lady Tigers who finished with a 26-6 record. Under first year head coach Kim Mulkey, this group of young ladies flourished into a competitive unit that brought excitement back to LSU women's basketball. “One of my most enjoyable years ever in my career,” said Coach Mulkey, who is a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year. “I personally judge good coaches based on the talent they have on that floor and are they overachieving? Did we beat some people this year we should not have beaten? You bet we did. We beat a lot of ’em. We beat ranked teams. We didn’t start this baby ranked. We came from nowhere and just built it.” The Lady Tigers controlled the opening tip and scored quickly as Khayla Pointer sank a three pointer 16 seconds into the contest bringing the crowd of 8,135 to their feet. LSU's defense held Ohio State scoreless until Rikki Harris sank two free throws at the 6:36 mark before Taylor Thierry banked in a layup off of a LSU turnover to put the Lady Buckeyes up 4-3 with 6:14 left in the first period. Over the next three minutes Ohio State would outscore LSU 6-5 to hold onto a 10-8 advantage at the 3:15 mark, as six early turnovers aided the Buckeyes. With :44 seconds left in the period, LSU would find themselves in a four minute scoring slump as the Lady Buckeyes would lead 15-8 thanks to Taylor Mikesell hitting a three pointer with :05 seconds left in the first period. We began the second period with Ohio State on a 11-0 run while LSU had missed their last nine shots, but the Ben-Gals would wake up offensively to keep pace with the Buckeyes. Halfway through the period, an Autumn Newby layup pulled LSU to within three, 23-20 with 5:30 left in the first half, but Rebeka Mikulasikova answered with Ohio State's 5th three pointer of the contest to put her team up 26-20. The Lady Buckeyes would outscore LSU 8-6 over the final five minutes of the second period to take a 34-26 lead at the half. Both teams shot poorly from the floor in the first half as LSU hit 11-33 for 33% while OSU finished 13-34 for 38%. But the difference in the contest was the three point shooting as the Lady Tigers only sank 2-5 from behind the arc for 40% compared to the Buckeyes hitting 6-13 for 46%. LSU finished 50% at the free throw line hitting only 2-4 while OSU hit 100%, 2-2 from the charity stripe. LSU outrebounded Ohio State, 26-18 during the first 20 minutes, but LSU committed nine costly turnovers while the Buckeyes only turned the ball over four times. Ohio State began the third period playing aggressively on both ends of the floor as they would build a 42-28 lead at the 6:08 mark as LSU sputtered offensively, struggling to score against an energetic, high intensity OSU defense. With 4:40 left in the period the Buckeyes increased their lead to 19 points, 49-30 as Ohio State continued to out-hustle and out-play the Lady Tigers. The Buckeyes kept their foot down on the accelerator building a 24 point lead, 57-33 before LSU would score four straight to cut the score to 57-37 to end the third period. The Lady Tigers began the final period with fire in their eyes, slowly chipping away at the Ohio State lead to find themselves down by eleven, 74-63 with only 2:39 remaining in the game. LSU had several opportunities to get the lead under double digits but the shots simply wouldn't fall as the Lady Buckeyes would advance to the Sweet Sixteen with a 79-64 victory. In her final game as a LSU Tiger Khayla Pointer finished with 32 points as she lead a furious fourth period comeback that fell short as Ohio State was able to survive the run and pull back away late in the contest. “It’s been great,” Pointer said. “It’s been fun. Coach obviously told us to think of all of the things we accomplished this year. We came up short. But can’t look over, you know, everything we have been able to do and the things we have accomplished.” Jailin Cherry added 12 points in her final game wearing the purple and gold. “You know, we have never been here before,” Cherry echoed. “And it was just a blessing to play on this stage and at this level. Yeah, everybody doesn’t make it (to the NCAA Tournament), but we got a chance to make it. And, you know, we did a lot of good things so it’s really nothing negative I can say about it.” It simply was a bad time to have an off night. But give the Lady Buckeyes credit, they came into a hostile environment and played at a high level throughout the contest. With that said, the 2021-22 LSU women's basketball season comes to an end. A huge thank you to Coach Mulkey and all of the LSU players for a fun and memorable year...... Until next season, .... GEAUX TIGERS!!! Photos Below By: Jonathan Mailhes  Photo By: Jonathan Mailhes Da Boot Sports 3/19/2022 LSU Sports Communications By: LSU Staff BATON ROUGE – March Madness was alive and well Saturday in the PMAC as No. 3 LSU took down No. 14 Jackson State, 83-77, in a game that featured multiple twists and turns. The Tigers won their first NCAA Tournament game since 2014. LSU will matchup with Ohio State on Monday with time and television still to be announced. A trip to the Sweet Sixteen will be on the line. “They just won their very first game in the NCAA Tournament – these kids right here, this senior group,” LSU Head Coach Kim Mulkey said. “That’s important and we don’t need to forget that. They won and they’re experiencing something today and tonight and tomorrow the next game that they’ve never experienced in their life.” LSU led by as many as 17 in the third quarter, but JSU refused to go away, battling all the back to take a one-point lead into the fourth quarter. JSU ultimately built its lead up to 10 with under five minutes remaining in the game, but LSU, fueled by a home court advantage, stormed back to finish the game on a 19-3 run to survive and advance. With the game tied under one minute remaining, Pointer drained a three from the left wing to put the Tigers in front once and for all. “Just stay confident in your game no matter the stretch of the game – high or lows,” Pointer said. “It’s a game of runs. I work on those shots every single day. The ball came around and I just shot it with confidence. I didn’t think twice about it.. LSU’s All-American Khayla Pointer stuffed the stat sheet and had a game-high 26 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals. She is the only player in the last 20 years to have at least 25 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals in an NCAA Tournament game (men’s or women’s), according to Stats By STATS. Jailin Cherry came out sizzling for the Tigers and scored a career-high 24 points on 12-23 shooting. Eighteen of her points came in the first half. Faustine Aifuwa also played big for LSU, with 17 points and 14 rebounds to finish with a double-double. She also protected the rim with 7 blocks. Miya Crump was huge for JSU with 21 points, hitting multiple clutch shots to help the Lady Tigers build its lead in the fourth quarter. Ameshya Williams-Holliday had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds for JSU. It was a full-court press that fueled LSU’s comeback victory. Trailing 10 with 4:54 remaining the press created chaos for JSU allowing LSU to surge in front and win the game. Cherry started quick and made her first two attempts to give the Tigers an early 4-2 lead. LSU went up 9-2 after Aifuwa converted on an and-one and Ryann Payne dished it to Cherry on a two-on-one fast break for a lay-in. JSU scored the next five points to bring it within two. Awa Trasi put LSU up 16-12 after grabbing an offensive board, drawing a foul and sinking two free throws. LSU led 16-14 at the end of the first quarter. Pointer made her first basket, a three, at the 8:08 mark in the second to put the Tigers up by five. JSU scored the next five though to tie it at 19. Cherry scored on the ensuing LSU possession, giving her 10 points and kicking off a 6-0 LSU run. An 8-0 run minutes later gave LSU a 10-point, 35-25, lead after Pointer found Cherry on back-to-back fast breaks to give the Tigers their largest lead. Morris found Cherry on a fast break out of the timeout to put LSU up 12. LSU took a 41-28 lead into the half. Within the first two minutes of the half, LSU built its lead to 17, but JSU surged back with a 10-0 run. Pointer made a layup to end the run and LSU built its lead back to nine going into the media timeout with 4:51 left in the third quarter. With 2:42 left in the quarter though, JSU tied it with a 6-0 run on back-to-back threes. JSU took a lead, but after a Technical was called on Woodard, Alexis Morris tied the game at 54 with two free throws. LSU trailed by one, 58-57 going into the final quarter. Pointer scored on the first possession of the quarter to put LSU back in front. Crump put JSU back in front, 62-60, with a step-back three with 8:20 remaining. With 7:00 remaining, LSU trailed 66-60. JSU led 74-64 with 4:54 remaining as LSU was ice cold going into the media timeout. “The kids never stopped playing hard,” Coach Mulkey said. “They just kept playing hard and we happened to get some steals and change the momentum.” “This team, we’re relentless,” Pointer said. “We weren’t ready to go home.” By the 3:20 mark LSU brought it within six and Mulkey called timeout after an Aifuwa layup. Pointer stole the ball out of the timeout and drove the ball all the way to the rack, sinking a circus shot and drawing the foul. She made the free throw to bring LSU within three and then Cherry stole the ball on the next inbound and laid it in to make it a one point game. Payne was called for a delay of game technical after the made basket though, fouling out of the game. JSU missed both technical free throws. Aifuwa blocked a shot then and Pointer took the rebound then went the length of the floor, drawing a foul and making both free throws to put LSU up, 75-74. Cherry put LSU up on a jumper three with 2:12 left on, giving her a new career-high. The game entered its final minute tied at 77. Pointer made a three with 48.7 seconds left to give LSU a lead after JSU had tied it. LSU’s All-American Khayla Pointer stuffed the stat sheet and had a game-high 26 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals. She is the only player in the last 20 years to have at least 25 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals in an NCAA Tournament game (men’s or women’s), according to Stats By STATS. Jailin Cherry came out sizzling for the Tigers and scored a career-high 24 points on 12-23 shooting. Eighteen of her points came in the first half. Faustine Aifuwa also played big for LSU, with 17 points and 14 rebounds to finish with a double-double. She also protected the rim with 7 blocks. Miya Crump was huge for JSU with 21 points, hitting multiple clutch shots to help the Lady Tigers build its lead in the fourth quarter. Ameshya Williams-Holliday had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds for JSU. It was a full-court press that fueled LSU’s comeback victory. Trailing 10 with 4:54 remaining the press created chaos for JSU allowing LSU to surge in front and win the game. Cherry started quick and made her first two attempts to give the Tigers an early 4-2 lead. LSU went up 9-2 after Aifuwa converted on an and-one and Ryann Payne dished it to Cherry on a two-on-one fast break for a lay-in. JSU scored the next five points to bring it within two. Awa Trasi put LSU up 16-12 after grabbing an offensive board, drawing a foul and sinking two free throws. LSU led 16-14 at the end of the first quarter. Pointer made her first basket, a three, at the 8:08 mark in the second to put the Tigers up by five. JSU scored the next five though to tie it at 19. Cherry scored on the ensuing LSU possession, giving her 10 points and kicking off a 6-0 LSU run. An 8-0 run minutes later gave LSU a 10-point, 35-25, lead after Pointer found Cherry on back-to-back fast breaks to give the Tigers their largest lead. Morris found Cherry on a fast break out of the timeout to put LSU up 12. LSU took a 41-28 lead into the half. Within the first two minutes of the half, LSU built its lead to 17, but JSU surged back with a 10-0 run. Pointer made a layup to end the run and LSU built its lead back to nine going into the media timeout with 4:51 left in the third quarter. With 2:42 left in the quarter though, JSU tied it with a 6-0 run on back-to-back threes. JSU took a lead, but after a Technical was called on Woodard, Alexis Morris tied the game at 54 with two free throws. LSU trailed by one, 58-57 going into the final quarter. Pointer scored on the first possession of the quarter to put LSU back in front. Crump put JSU back in front, 62-60, with a step-back three with 8:20 remaining. With 7:00 remaining, LSU trailed 66-60. JSU led 74-64 with 4:54 remaining as LSU was ice cold going into the media timeout. By the 3:20 mark LSU brought it within six and Mulkey called timeout after an Aifuwa layup. Pointer stole the ball out of the timeout and drove the ball all the way to the rack, sinking a circus shot and drawing the foul. She made the free throw to bring LSU within three and then Cherry stole the ball on the next inbound and laid it in to make it a one point game. Payne was called for a delay of game technical after the made basket though, fouling out of the game. JSU missed both technical free throws. Aifuwa blocked a shot then and Pointer took the rebound then went the length of the floor, drawing a foul and making both free throws to put LSU up, 75-74. Cherry put LSU up on a jumper three with 2:12 left on, giving her a new career-high. The game entered its final minute tied at 77. Pointer made a three with 48.7 seconds left to give LSU a lead after JSU had tied it.  Photo By: Michael Bacigalupi Da Boot Sports 3/14/2022 By: David Penn BATON ROUGE, LA - If you haven’t been a part of the electric atmosphere at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, you still have a chance. The Athletic Coach of the Year and LSU Lady Tigers Basketball Coach Kim Mulkey is set to lead the #3 seed Lady Tigers into battle after posting a 25-5 record in her first season in Baton Rouge. The 8th ranked Lady Tigers will host the 14th seeded Jackson State Lady Tigers in Baton Rouge on Saturday March 19th in the PMAC. This will be LSU's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2018... The LSU Lady Tigers are led by Khayla Pointer who has averaged 19 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game. Alexis Morris has averaged 15.8 ppg. On the glass, Autumn Newby and Faustine Aifuwa combined for 433 rebounds with Newby averaging 8.1 rpg and Aifuwa grabbing 6.6 rpg, the Lady Tigers average 43.5 rebounds a game while allowing 34.6 rebounds to the other team. Coach Mulkey was recently named a semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year Award and Pointer was named a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award. Coach Mulkey had this to say about the NCAA tournament, “You just get excited for the people sitting there that are going to get to see first and second round deal here at the PMAC and for those players that have never been a part of this and that’s my excitement. Certainly the competitive spirit comes out of me as we get closer to the games, but great crowd there for the announcement and it’s here, this is going to be fun. No matter how it ends, when it ends, what happens it’s fun.”  Photo By: LSUsports.net Da Boot Sports 3/4/2022 LSU Sports Communications By: LSU Staff NASHVILLE – LSU fell in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament Friday night to Kentucky, 78-63. “They (Kentucky) just came out on fire,” LSU Coach Kim Mulkey said. “I watched them play the previous games and they have all their parts back. They have everybody healthy, you know, and they’ve been on a run. They’ve won seven or eight in a row. And they can score the ball. And I think when you have Treasure Hunt and people like that shooting threes and making them, that helps Rhyne Howard not have to do it all. “They just punched us in the mouth early and we didn’t fold our tent. We kept trying to get back in the game. And we cut — didn’t we cut it to 9 at one point? So we kept battling. Just give them credit. Give them credit. They’re on a roll right now.” LSU fell down early and trailed by 20 at the half, but the Tigers fought back in the third quarter to get the game within nine points. LSU could not sustain its third quarter momentum though as Kentucky pulled away. The Tigers will return to Baton Rouge and begin preparations for the NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday will air on ESPN on March 13 at 7 p.m. CT where LSU is expected to hear its name called as a Top-16 seed to host first and second round games in the PMAC. Khayla Pointer led LSU’s comeback attempt in the third quarter where she scored 11 of her final 27 points. She also dished out 7 assists and grabbed 7 rebounds. Ryann Payne went 6-for-9 and finished with 13 points. Both Faustine Aifuwa and Autumn Newby pulled in 8 rebounds. Rhyne Howard showed why she is projected to go early in the WNBA Draft, scoring a game-high 32 points and sinking 6 three pointers. Dre’una Edwards had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Treasure Hunt scored 13 points and got 7 rebounds. Kentucky struck first on a 6-0 run before Ryann Payne got the Tigers on the board at the 7:30 mark of the opening quarter. Pointer thread the needle twice down the court to get Payne the ball on fast breaks to bring the Tigers within two, 8-6. Howard gave the Wildcats a 16-8 lead after sinking two threes in a row. Robyn Benton hit a three a couple possessions later to give Kentucky a 12-point lead, forcing an LSU timeout. Kentucky led 25-13 at the end of the quarter with Howard leading the way with 13 points for the Wildcats. Kentucky hit two threes early in the second quarter to take a 33-15 lead and the Wildcats soon built their lead to over 20 by the 6:00 mark of the second quarter. Late in the second quarter Autumn Newby went down, going for an offensive rebound with an apparent back injury. LSU went to the break trailing, 45-25. Kentucky shot 54.8-percent and hit eight threes to build its lead. Aifuwa scored in the post on the first possession of the second half, battling through contact and looking to shift LSU’s first half misfortunes. Cherry then pulled up in transition on the next possession after a Kentucky miss. Through the middle part of the quarter LSU looked sharper, but was unable to make a significant dent in the Kentucky lead, going into the media timeout trailing, 53-37, with 4:07 left in the quarter. Pointer then scored seven in a row for the Tigers, capped with an and-one at the 2:20 mark, bringing the Tigers within 11. LSU forced a shot-clock violation the the ensuing defensive possession, taking momentum with a ferocious block by Awa Trasi. Pointer then made it nine straight to make it a nine-point game, forcing a Kentucky timeout with 1:27 left in the quarter. LSU went into the fourth quarter trailing, 57-46. By the 8:09 point in the fourth quarter, Kentucky went back up by 15 and then Howard hit a three, a dagger for LSU’s comeback attempt that put the Wildcats up, 66-48.  Photo By: theadvertiser.com Da Boot Sports 2/27/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil KNOXVILLE, TN - LSU rolled into Knoxville where they haven't won since 2014 looking for a win to clinch the #2 seed in next week's SEC Tournament. LSU played outstanding ball throughout most of the contest leading by double digits most of the day and holding a lead as large as 18 points. But Tennessee never quit, battling back in the fourth period to pull to within two points, 56-54 with :33 seconds left in the contest. The Lady Tigers would hold on escaping with a 57-54 victory. “This group, I’ll tell you – I don’t know when it’s going to end, but they just grind and they just find ways to win,” LSU Head Coach Kim Mulkey said. “The most important thing is how we started the game,” Coach Mulkey added. “Confident. Shot the ball good, but defended good as well. I thought the only way we could come in here and win under some circumstances out of our control was if we rebounded the ball.” The Lady Tigers raced out of the gate to take a 10-2 lead over the first four minutes as you could see LSU was focused and ready to play. LSU remained relentless on both ends of the floor, especially defensively as they forced six first period turnovers helping the Lady Tigers go on a 12-8 run to hold a 22-10 lead at the end of the period. The Ben-Gals held Tennessee without a basket over the final five minutes of the first period as the Lady Vols only managed three free throws during that period. LSU continued to play at a high level to start the second period going on a 7-1 run to extend their lead to 29-11 with 7:33 left to go in the first half. Thirteen seconds later Jordan Walker would hit a three pointer for the Vols. It was the first field goal for Tennessee since the 5:10 mark of the first period. Walker's basket woke the Lady Vols up as they would go on a 9-2 run over the next five minutes to cut the LSU lead to 31-20 at the 2:41 mark. But the Lady Tigers would remain in control, outscoring Tennessee 5-2 over the final two minutes to take a 36-22 lead into the locker room at the half. LSU shot 49% from the floor going 17-35 while hitting 2-5 three pointers for 40%. Autumn Newby and Jailin Cherry both led the team with 10 points each. Kayla Pointer and Ryann Payne both scored 7 points each and Faustine Aifuwa added two. Tennessee began the third period outscoring LSU 8-4 over the first four minutes cutting the Ben-Gals lead to ten, 40-30 with 6:25 left on the clock. With :56 second left, the Lady Vols would pull to within single digits when Tamari Key sank two free throws cutting the lead to 44-36 to end the third period. LSU scored the first two baskets of the final period to extend their lead to twelve, 48-36 quieting the crowd down at the 8:10 mark. Over the next four minutes the game turn into a see-saw battle, but LSU would do just enough to hold on to a double digits advantage, leading 56-45 with 4:09 left in the contest. The Lady Tigers committed two costly turnovers against the Lady Vols full court press to allow Tennessee to pull to within seven, 56-49 at the 2:33 mark. Tennessee cut the lead to four, 56-52 with 1:37 to go thanks to a 11-0 run. Khayla Pointer ended up on the free throw line and missed both attempts giving the Lady Vols another opportunity and Rae Burrell cashed in, sinker a jumper to pull her team to within two, 56-54 with :33 seconds left. With :25 seconds left, LSU had not scored a basket in the last six minutes and had turned the ball over seven times over the last five minutes. Khayla Pointer sank one of two free throw attempts putting LSU up by three, 57-54 with three seconds remaining, then Pointer would steal the inbounds pass to clinch the victory over a tough Tennessee team. Jailin Cherry led the team in scoring as well as finishing with a double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds. Khayla Pointer finished with a double-double also scoring 12 points while grabbing 14 rebounds. Autumn Newby scored 12 points, while Ryann Payne added 7 points and Faustine Aifuwa and Hannah Gusters both finished with 6 points each. With the win, LSU finishes the regular season 25-4 overall (13-3 SEC) and clinches the 2nd seed in the SEC Tournament.  Photo By: LSU Reveille Da Boot Sports 2/24/2022 LSU Sports Information By: LSU Staff BATON ROUGE – No. 8 LSU (24-4, 12-3 SEC) shored up at least a share of second place in the SEC with a 58-50 win over Alabama (14-12, 5-10 SEC) Thursday night in the PMAC during the Tigers’ regular season home finale. LSU’s matchup at No. 16 Tennessee on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN2 will be for the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament as the Lady Vols are currently one game behind the Tigers in the standings. The last time LSU finished in the Top-2 of the SEC was when the Tigers won the conference in 2008. “They don’t get too high, they don’t get too low, and a lot of that is because they’re older,” said LSU Coach Kim Mulkey. “They’re mature, and they realize we got a tough one in Knoxville. Florida gets beat tonight so it’s you (LSU) and Tennessee down to who gets the two or the three seed in the SEC Tournament.” Faustine Aifuwa, Jailin Cherry, Khayla Pointer, Autumn Newby and Autumn Trasi all played their final regular season home game inside the PMAC as LSU celebrated senior night in the PMAC. Pointer scored 23 and added 9 rebounds and 8 assists as she moved into the No. 2 spot on LSU career assists list. Aifuwa scored 12 and had three blocks, playing dominant in the low post. Megan Abrams led Alabama with 16 points and Brittany Davis grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. LSU limited Alabama to 34-percent shooting and outscored the Crimson Tide, 36-12 in the paint. Five early points from Aifuwa, two rebounds and two blocks helped LSU jump out to a 7-2 lead through the first four minutes of the game. After Pointer got a steal and layed it in on the break and Newby scored her first points in the post, LSU took a 12-4 lead into the media timeout with 3:29 left in the first quarter. Pointer extended LSU’s lead to 10 out of the timeout with a lay-in after driving baseline. Wade-Warren made two threes late in the quarter for Alabama to reduce LSU’s lead to six as the Tigers took a 16-10 lead into the second quarter. Cherry and Pointer built LSU’s lead back to double-figures with the first two baskets of the second quarter. After scoring six quick points in the quarter, the LSU offense mustered just one made shot in its next eight attempts, but the Tigers defense stood steady and limited the Tide from cutting significantly into their lead. Pointer hit a layup in transition to put LSU up 27-17 and on the next possession she found Hannah Gusters in the post to go into the half with a 12-point lead. LSU held Alabama to 23.1-percent shooting throughout the half, limiting offensive opportunities for the Crimson Tide. After Megan Abrams made a three to begin the half for Alabama, Pointer immediately responded with a three for the Tigers on the other end. By the 7:02 mark and after another Pointer triple, LSU extended its lead to 37-23. The Crimson Tide clawed back though and by the 2:10 mark in the third quarter they had made it a five-point game. Alabama made six threes to outscore LSU by seven in the third quarter to make it a five point game. Alabama got within three in the first two minutes of the final quarter, LSU clinging to a 46-43 lead. Ryann Payne, Newby and Pointer scored six straight for the Tigers, bringing the 7,421 in the PMAC to their feet with LSU building its lead back up to nine going into the media timeout with 4:53 remaining. Aifuwa’s bucket with 3:27 remaining pushed LSU’s lead back to double figures.  Photo By: Jonathan Mailhes Da Boot Sports 2/20/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA: The 11th ranked Lady Tigers hosted the 17th ranked Florida Gators in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Sunday afternoon with 2nd place in the SEC on the line. The Gators had defeated LSU earlier in the season in a thrilling 73-72 victory in Gainesville. Since then, Kim Mulkey no doubt had this rematch circled on the schedule and this time there would be a different final result as LSU won this thrilling contest, 66-61 in front of 13,620 loud Tiger fans. The 4th largest crowd in LSU Women's Basketball history. “The message was that since we don’t play again for four days, we had the opportunity to be in sole possession of the second ranked spot in the SEC,” Head Coach Kim Mulkey said her message was to the team before the game. “I don’t think the seniors have ever been in that position. The message was that today could be one of your most memorable games in basketball.” “Y’all know what I preach,” Head Coach Kim Mulkey said. “Field goal percentage defense and rebound the ball. That’s how we won today. We didn’t shoot well today.” LSU only shot 33% from the floor hitting 22-66 while going 0-8 from behind the three point arc. But the Lady Tigers went 22-32 from the free throw line for 69%. They also forced Florida into 15 turnovers while outrebounding the Gators, 49-45. Alexis Morris led the Tigers in scoring with 20 points. Autumn Newby added 13 points and had a very solid game before she fouled out late in the contest. Faustine Aifuwa scored 10 points and blocked two huge shots late in the game. Khayla Pointer contributed 7 points on the day as Florida did a good job at defending her throughout the contest. Hannah Gusters and Jailin Cherry both finished with 6 points each while Ryann Payne scored 4 points. The first five minutes of the contest resembled the first meeting between these two teams, as we would find the score even at 8-8 with 5:06 left in the first period. LSU made the first run of the game, scoring seven straight to take a 15-8 lead at the 2:04 mark. But the Gators responded with four points in a row, cutting the lead to 15-12 with 35 seconds left on the clock. Ryann Payne would draw a foul with one second left, hitting both of her free throws to put the Lady Tigers up 17-12 at the end of the first period. The Lady Tigers would start the second period ice cold, missing several opportunities to score, allowing Florida to cut the lead to one, 17-16 with 8:18 to go. After Alexis Morris sank two free throws, Florida's Nina Rickards would hit a three pointer from the top of the key to tie the ball game at 19-19 at the 6:47 mark. LSU would once again shift things into another gear going on a 6-1 run taking a 25-20 lead. But surprise, surprise, Florida responded with back to back baskets to pull to within 25-24 with 3:03 left in the second period. Zipporah Broughton would sink a jumper with 1:10 left to give Florida their first lead of the game as well as the lead at the half, 26-25. The Lady Tigers failed to score during the last 4:31 of the second period, missing their last six attempts from the floor. Alexis Morris led the Tigers at the half with 10 points. Aifuwa added 6 points, while Newby scored 4. The big stat of the first half was Florida's ability to defensively hold Khayla Pointer to only one point over the first 20 minutes. The third period began with a fast and furious pace as both teams pushed the ball, running the floor while trading baskets in a back and forth contest. With 4:52 left in the period, Florida would cling to a two points advantage, 35-33 at the officials timeout. As we returned to play, Khayla Pointer found herself at the line on two quick occasions, sinking all four free throws to help LSU regain the lead, 36-35 at the 4:22 mark. With 1:57 left in the period and the score even at 40-40, Ryann Payne sank two free throws to put the Lady Tigers up 42-40 before Hannah Gusters would bank in a second change layup to give LSU a 44-40 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Lady Gators started the fourth period scoring two quick baskets to even up the game again, 44-44 with 8:56 to go in the contest. The see-saw battle continued as each team took turns taking then losing the lead before Autumn Newby banked in a second chance layup drawing a foul. Newby sank the free throw giving the Ben-Gals a 53-50 lead with 4:51 left in the game. So far we have had nine ties and ten lead changes in this classic SEC battle. The Lady Tigers extended their lead when Faustine Aifuwa scored and drew a foul. Aifuwa missed her bonus point opportunity, but the Tigers now held a 55-50 lead with 3:41 left to go. With LSU leading 58-52, Kiara Smith would score on a layup before Rickards hit a jumper to cut the LSU lead to 58-56 with 1:07 left in the contest. Alexis Morris sank one of two free throw attempts putting the Lady Tigers up by three, 59-56 with 38 seconds left. Aifuwa would come up with two huge back to back shot blocks to give the purple and gold back possession of the ball. Morris was fouled and sank both free throws putting LSU up by five, 61-56 with 26 seconds left. But Florida refused to fold as Faith Dut responded with a three pointer from the deep near corner to cut the lead to two, 61-59 with 18 ticks remaining. Each team would trade another set of free throws as the Lady Tigers held a 63-61 lead with ten seconds left. Alexis Morris would sink one of two free throw attempts giving the Lady Tigers a three point advantage, 64-61 with nine seconds remaining. Morris sank two more charity shots with three seconds left to give LSU a huge 66-61 victory. With the win, LSU is now 23-4 overall and 11-3 in the SEC, in 2nd place only behind South Carolina. LSU will host Alabama in the PMAC on Thursday, Feb. 24th at 7:00pm CT. It will be the final regular season home game of 2022. Photos Below By: Jonathan Mailhes  Photo By: Michael Bacigalupi Da Boot Sports 2/17/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil STARKVILLE, MS: The 11th ranked Lady Tigers traveled to Starkville on Thursday to take on a tough Mississippi State team that ended up giving LSU all they could handle and more. The Bulldogs would go blow for blow with LSU until the final four minutes of the contest. With the score all even at 56-56, the Bayou Ben-Gals found an extra gear and would go on a 17-3 run to pull away with a 71-59 conference win. “What they did, they did on sheer will to win, sheer talent and just making clutch plays,” said LSU Head Coach Kim Mulkey. “It wasn’t anything I drew up. It wasn’t any magical thing said in the timeout. You have to win some of those like that sometimes.” “I don’t know how we won this game other than their will to win and their will to not be afraid to take that shot,” said Coach Mulkey. “These seniors lost many games last year that they could have won; they were close games. It’s rewarding for me for them to now win those close games that they lost last year.” The Lady Tigers controlled the opening tip and took the early lead as Autumn Newby scored on a fast break layup at the 9:21 mark. The game pace started fast and furious as both teams pushed the ball up the floor taking quick shot opportunities. Both teams also started hot, answering each others baskets as we found the contest all even at 12-12 with 4:37 left in the opening period. LSU then stepped up their game, led by Khayla Pointer, going on an 11-4 run to end the first period with a 23-16 lead. Two minutes into the second period the Lady Tigers increased their lead to ten, 27-17 as Jailin Cherry would sink back to back baskets. With the score 30-20 at the 5:14 mark, State would take advantage of a LSU scoring slump going on a 9-2 run, cutting the Lady Tigers' lead to 32-29 with 2:27 left in the first half. Each team managed another basket over the final two minutes as the game reached the halftime break with LSU leading by three, 34-31. LSU shot 44% from the field in the first half going 15-34, while sinking 4-8 from three point land for 50%. The Lady Tigers led by as much as 13 points but turnovers (LSU committed 8 in the first half) allowed the Lady Bulldogs to claw their way back into the game late in the second period. Khayla Pointer led the Tigers with 10 points at the half, while Alexis Morris finished with 8 points. Jailin Cherry added 6 points and Autumn Newby scored 4. With Mississippi State sitting on them bubble for a post-season bid, they began the third period playing like a desperate team battling for their NCAA tournament life giving LSU all they can handle and much more. The game was all even at 42-42 at the 4:27 mark before the Lady Tigers looked like they were finally going to take control, scoring five straight to take a 47-42 lead. But the Lady Bulldogs answered with a quick five points of their own to once again tie the ball game at 47-47 with 1:57 left in the period. Anastasia Hayes would score on a layup at the 1:05 mark giving Mississippi State a 49-47 lead at the end of the third period. We would begin the final period with both teams going back and forth trading baskets again, as the score sat at 52-52 with 8:07 left in the game. Three minutes later with State leading 56-54, Alexis Morris hit a jumper to knot the game up again with the score now 56-56 at the 4:50 mark. But Kim Mulkey's group stepped up over the final four minutes of the contest going on a 15-3 run to down the Bulldogs, 71-59. Alexis Morris ended up leading the Lady Tigers on the night with 23 points. Pointer finished with 18 points. Jailin Cherry added 10 points while Newby, Aifuwa, and Payne scored 6 points each. The Lady Tigers are now 22-4 overall and 10-3 in the SEC... Next up LSU will return home to the PMAC to host #17 Florida on Sunday, Feb. 20th at 3:00pm CT.. The game will be televised on SEC Network.  Photo By: LSUsports.net Da Boot Sports 2/13/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil COLLEGE STATION, TX: The 14th ranked Lady Tigers went into College Station on Sunday afternoon and left with an impressive 74-58 conference win. After trailing at halftime 33-27, LSU dominate the second half with suffocating defense as the Lady Tigers forced A&M into 12 turnovers and outrebounded the Aggies, 44-26. Khayla Pointer and Alexis Morris were the Dynamic Duo, finishing with 25 points each to lead the Tigers to victory. Jailin Cherry added 9 points, while Autumn Newby scored 7 and Faustine Aifuwa contributed 6 points. With the win the Lady Tigers are now 21-4 (9-3 SEC).... “It was a game that I thought we even controlled it when we were behind at half,” said LSU Coach Kim Mulkey. “I just felt like we were in control of the game for whatever reason. The story that needs to be told is 21,” added Mulkey. “This is the first time that these seniors have won 21 ballgames in their career at LSU. We’re not a team that was supposed to do anything.” The game began as a slow half court contest with LSU taking a 6-0 lead with 6:10 left in the first period, while the Aggies struggled to sink a basket. After an officials timeout the game pace began to pick up as both team's began to run the floor off of defensive rebounds as Texas A&M outscored the Lady Tigers 7-3 over the next two minutes pulling to within two points, 9-7 at the 4:01 mark. With LSU up 16-13, McKinzie Green hit a half court shot off the glass at the buzzer to tie the game at 16-16 at the end of the first period. To start the second period, LSU managed to take a 21-20 with 8:14 to go in the first half, but two minutes later Kayla Wells would sink back to back three pointers to give A&M a 26-21 lead. The Lady Aggies were able to build a 33-25 lead with 1:30 left in the second period, as the LSU offense missed their last 11 shots going ice cold over the last 2:40.. Ryann Payne would hit a jumper at the 1:13 mark, but the game remained scoreless over the final minute of the half, with Texas A&M holding a 33-27 lead at the break. After hitting only 1 of their final 14 shots of the second period, the Lady Tigers hoped turn things around and that they did. LSU would go on a 7-2 run to start the third period pulling to within one point, 35-34 with 7:14 left on the clock. LSU took over the rest of the third period going on a 13-7 run taking a 54-49 lead into the final quarter. The Lady Tigers continued to dominate in the fourth period going on a 9-2 run to increase their lead to 63-51 with 6:26 left in the contest. A&M responded with a 7-2 run, cutting the LSU lead to seven, with 4:18 to go, but LSU bounced right back with four in a row, to extend the advantage to 69-58 with 2:42 left on the clock. LSU simply dominated the final two minutes and a half minutes of play, holding the Aggies scoreless while hitting their free throws to come away with an impressive 74-58 victory.  Photo By: Jonathan Mailhes Da Boot Sports 2/10/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA: LSU and Georgia treated the Pete Maravich Assembly Center crowd of 6,943 to an outstanding SEC battle on Thursday night. The Lady Tigers led by 16 at the half before leading by 20 points, 48-28 halfway through the third period. Looking like LSU was putting the game away, Georgia received a spark from their bench and would fight back in the fourth period to tie the contest at 62-62 with 2:25 left. But the Lady Tigers stepped up to outscore the Bulldogs, 11-5 the rest of the way to clinch the 73-67 win. With the victory, LSU is now 20-4 overall and 8-3 in SEC play.. “We gutted it out again. We made free throws. We got to the foul line a lot. It’s an ugly victory,” Kim Mulkey said. “You’re up 20. I’ve been involved where you’ve been up a lot and you come back, and you lose. We won. Our bench did a good job in the first half. I didn’t think they helped us in the second half." “Georgia’s bench almost basically beat our starters,” Mulkey said. “We had their starters pretty much contained a guarded. You don’t ever expect Georgia to make that many 3s. They’re last in the league. Opportunity for players to play and it almost basically beat us.” LSU started the game shooting the ball well taking an early 6-2 lead at the 9:04 mark, but Georgia would respond cutting the Lady Tigers' lead to one, 8-7 with 6:36 left on the clock. LSU would raise their play another notch, going on an 11-3 run over the next five and a half minutes to increase their lead to 20-11 with only 1:01 left in the period. Alexis Morris ended the first period by hitting a three pointer with 13 seconds left to give the Lady Tigers a 23-11 advantage. Both teams struggled to score early in the second before LSU managed a layup by Hannah Gusters and a pair of free throws by Khayla Pointer as the Tigers extended their lead to 27-11 with 7:32 left on the clock. Baskets would continue to be scarce in the period as over the next three minutes, Georgia managed four points and LSU got a layup from Pointer as the game score stood at 29-15, LSU at the 4:36 officials timeout. The sloppy play continued late in the first half as both clubs sputtered with missed shots and turnovers. But with LSU up 31-21, Jailin Cherry hit a deep jumper with 10.6 seconds left. Autumn Newby was fouled away from the ball on the play, sending her to the free throw line. Newby made the first of two charity shots, as LSU would rebound her miss allowing Alexis Morris to sink a three pointer at the buzzer giving the Lady Tigers a 37-21 lead at the half. The third period was loaded with fireworks as it looked like LSU was going to run away with the contest as the Tigers led by twenty, 48-28 with 5:48 left on the clock. The Lady Tigers were able to increase their lead thanks to shaky play by Georgia and by Que Morrison drawing a technical for slamming the ball down after being whistled for a foul. This gave LSU four free throws and the ball. LSU took advantage of the frustration foul to build the huge lead. But the final four minutes belonged to Georgia as they stepped up their play to go on a 17-7 run, outscoring LSU 24-19 in the third period to pull within 11 points, 56-45. The Lady Tigers sputtered and the Bulldogs stayed hot on offense to begin the fourth period as Georgia would sink three treys to help trim the LSU lead down to five, 61-56 at the 5:15 mark. With LSU going scoreless for almost four minutes, Georgia battled back, eliminating the 20 point deficit to tie the game at 62-62 with only 2:25 left in the contest. Sarah Ashley Barker would hit a jumper to pull the Bulldogs to within one, 65-64 with 1:01 to go, before Khayla Pointer was able to sink both of her free throw attempts after being fouled with 33 seconds left giving LSU a 67-64 lead. With 19 seconds left, Sarah Barker missed a three point attempt to try to tie the ball game. LSU rebounded and after being fouled, Alexis Morris sank both free throws to increase the Bayou Ben-Gals' lead to five, 69-64 with 14 seconds left. The Bulldogs raced down the court and Tineya Hylton hit a huge three pointer with nine seconds on the clock, cutting the lead to 69-67. Alexis Morris found herself at the free throw line with 8 seconds to go and calmly sank both shots, giving LSU a 71-67 advantage. Tineya Hylton then traveled, turning the ball over and Morris would be sent back to the charity stripe with two seconds left. She would sink both to give the 14th ranked Lady Tigers a huge 73-67 victory over 17th ranked Georgia. Alexis Morris led the team with 26 points,.. Khayla Pointer added 21 points,.. and Jailin Cherry finished with 18. The Lady Tigers had a tough night shooting from the floor going 21-54 for only 39%. It was LSU's success from behind the three point arc, (4-7 for 57%) and at the free throw line, (27-34 for 79%) that made the difference. The Tigers also had a strong night rebounding as they outrebounded the Bulldogs, 47-29. The stat that stung the most was 19 total turnovers by LSU that allowed Georgia to fight back into the contest. Next up, LSU will travel to College Station to play Texas A&M on Sunday, Feb. 13th at 2:00pm CT.. Photos Below By: Jonathan Mailhes  Photo By: Michael Bacigalupi Da Boot Sports 2/7/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil OXFORD, MS: Khayla Pointer had a triple-double and Faustine Aifuwa a double-double respectively helping #14 LSU defeat the Lady Rebels 68-64 on Monday night in Oxford. Aifuwa led the team with 29 points while grabbing 14 rebounds. Pointer had a fantastic outing finishing with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and Alexis Morris added 17 points for the Lady Tigers. It was a great victory for the Tigers. With the win, LSU is now 19-4 overall and 7-3 in the SEC. “Any win on the road is good,” said Head Coach Kim Mulkey. “But this one was especially big because of the timing of it.” After Ole Miss grabbed an early 2-0 lead, the Lady Tigers answered going on a 8-0 run to take the lead, 8-2 at the 6:45 mark. During the run, LSU did a great job of getting everyone involved in the action as four Lady Tigers sank a basket over the two and a half minute scoring spurt. The Rebels would answer with a run of their own, scoring seven straight to retake the lead, 9-8 with 3:02 left in the first quarter. In a period of runs, LSU responded scoring the final six points of the first quarter to lead 14-9 as we would head to the second period. LSU started the second period on fire, going on a 7-2 run over the first four minutes to take a ten point lead, 21-11. But the Lady-Rebels refused to fold their tents, fighting back to trim five points of the lead to pull to within 21-16 with 3:29 to play in the first half. Over the final three minutes of the quarter both team's ended up trading baskets with LSU leading 27-23 at the halftime break. Ole Miss started the third period scoring four straight to tie the game at 27-27 at the 8:26 mark, before LSU would go on a 5-0 run to retake the lead, 32-27 with 7:17 left in the third. The Rebels continued to keep pace with LSU until the Lady Tigers started an 11-5 run over a four minute span, building a 51-40 lead with 1:41 to go in the third period. Over the final minute, Ole Miss would outscore LSU, 4-0 to cut the Lady Tigers' lead to 51-44 at the end of the third period. The Lady Tigers controlled most of the fourth period holding on to a commanding lead that they wouldn't lose. With 3:33 left in the contest, LSU looked to have the game in hand leading 64-52. Ole Miss was able to find another gear, and went on an impressive 10-1 run, as they pulled to within three points, 65-62 with 30 seconds left in the game. LSU was able to sink enough free throws while holding off the Ole Miss rally for a huge 68-64 SEC win on the road. The Lady Tigers will return home to host the 17th ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Thursday night at 7:30pm. “I hope it will be a huge crowd,” Coach Mulkey said. “I will be disappointed if it is not a huge crowd.”  Photo By: Michael Bacigalupi Da Boot Sports 1/30/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA: After losing two in a row, the Lady Tigers looked to rebound against the Kentucky Wildcats in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Sunday afternoon and that they did. After three and a half hard fought quarters, the Lady Tigers stepped up their play late in the game to pull away for a 78-69 victory in front of 8,734 loud LSU fans. “Timing is everything,” Mulkey said. “We went to Florida, we battled, and we came up short. We went to Arkansas, we didn’t play well. We have to give credit to Arkansas. I told them we had to come home and just keep doing what we have been doing. Do what we have been doing but play a little tougher. I thought the crowd was great, I think it was our second largest this year. We had a lot going on to continue a good crowd today, it was a good atmosphere.” Khayla Pointer led the team with 28 points, scoring 19 of them in the fourth period to help lead her team to victory. Faustine Aifuwa had a great final period, scoring huge baskets late in the contest as she finished with 14 points on the day. Alexis Morris finished with 20 points while Jailin Cherry added 11. After a poor shooting first half, LSU finally woke up offensively in the fourth period as they ended the game shooting 28-64 from the floor for 44%, while sinking 5-8 from three point land for 63%. LSU also finished strong at the free throw line after struggling early in the contest, hitting 17-24 for 71%. With the win LSU now sits at 18-4 overall and 6-3 in the SEC. Kentucky started with the hot hand early as Jada Walker hit a three pointer to give the Lady Wildcats an early 3-0 lead. Over the next four minutes, Kentucky extended their lead to 11-6 as Walker continued to give LSU problems as she sank two more baskets. LSU answered with a 7-2 run to tie the game at 13-13 at the 2:50 mark thanks to tough defense and solid rebounding by the Lady Tigers. Over the final two minutes, LSU would outscore Kentucky 10-4 to lead 23-17 at the end of the first period. The second period was played at a much slower pace, which caused problems for the Lady Tigers as they struggled with their half court offense. After holding a six point lead, 28-22 at the 6:39 mark, Kentucky would begin to chip away at the LSU lead. The Lady Wildcats outscored the Tigers 12-5 over the final three minutes taking a 34-33 lead into the locker room at the half. Thanks to a strong second period, Kentucky finished the first 20 minutes shooting 52% from the floor going 14-27, while the Lady Tigers cooled down to finish hitting only 12-33 from the floor for 36%. The big stat of the first half was free throws. LSU left five points at the line as they only hit 6-11 for 55%. Alexis Morris led the team at the half with 13 points. Khayla Pointer finished with 7 points, while Faustine Aifuwa added 6. LSU started the third period playing with intensity, going on a 6-0 run to take a 39-34 lead with 7:53 left on the clock. But Kentucky would fight back to tie the contest at 39-39 as Emma King's drained three pointer led the Wildcats' run. The game suddenly changed into a track meet as both squads would go blow for blow, trading baskets until the officials timeout at 4:08 with LSU leading 46-43. The Lady Tigers would cool off late in the period and Kentucky took advantage, storming back to grab the lead with 58 seconds left in the period, 50-48. With LSU sputtering, the Wildcats added two free throws by Jada Walker to extend Big Blue's lead to 53-48 at the end of the third period. In a game that most expected LSU to win handily, it ended up turning into a back and forth SEC slugfest, as Kentucky's physical defensive play gave LSU fits. Khayla Pointer then put the team on her shoulders and scored five straight points to tie the game at 53-53 as the Maravich Center crowd would erupt with 7:37 left in the contest. Pointer ended up scoring 19 huge points in the fourth quarter. Neither team would back down as they continued to trade baskets, until Pointer would score a layup off of a turnover giving LSU a three point lead, 63-60 at the 4:48 mark. Khayla Pointer once again got the LSU fans cheering on their feet as she would steal a pass and take it the length of the floor to the basket, laying it in to extend the Tigers' advantage to 65-60. After Dre'una Edwards drained a three pointer for the Lady Wildcats, LSU quickly answered when Faustine Aifuwa scored on a layup and drew a foul. Aifuwa missed her charity shot, but Pointer would make up for it on the next possession, hitting a huge jumper to give LSU a 69-63 lead with 2:20 left on the clock. LSU began raising their play as they responded to the roar of 'LSU! LSU! LSU! from the Tiger crowd. Aifuwa banked in another layup to extend the lead to seven, 71-64 at the 1:48 mark. The Bayou Ben-Gals would then take care of business at the free throw line, finishing off the Wildcats to end their two game slide with an exciting 78-69 SEC victory. Next up the Tigers will travel to Oxford to due battle with the Ole Miss Rebels on Monday, Feb. 7th. Tipoff is set for 6:00pm and the game will be televised on the SEC Network. Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi Photos Below By: Jonathan Mailhes  Photo By: LSUsports.net Da Boot Sports 1/27/2022 LSU Sports Information By: LSU Staff FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The LSU Women’s Basketball team dropped its second game in a row, falling to Arkansas in Bud Walton Arena Thursday night, 90-76. “I just thought we didn’t shoot the ball well,” said LSU Head Coach Kim Mulkey. “They were sagging in the paint. It wasn’t like Florida where they were up in us and really guarding us hard. We had some really easy, good looks that we normally make and we just didn’t make them.” The Tigers fell to 17-4 and 5-3 in the SEC and Arkansas improved to 14-6 and 4-3 in the conference. Alexis Morris led LSU with 22 points, all of which came in the second half. Autumn Newby had 15 points and also led the Tigers with 9 rebounds. Khayla Pointer recorded 5 rebounds as she reached 500 in her career. She is the only player in program history to have 1,500 points, 500 assists and 500 rebounds. She also had 13 points Thursday night. Amber Ramirez finished with a game-high 25 points, making 5 threes, and Samara Spencer had 20 for the Razorbacks as did Makayla Daniels. Arkansas hit 13 threes and shot 52-percent from beyond the arc. LSU turned the ball over 16 times and Arkansas scored 20 points off of turnovers. The Tigers return to the PMAC this Sunday to take on the Kentucky Wildcats at 1 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on SEC Network. Arkansas started the game with the first points before Jailin Cherry got LSU on the board with an 18-foot pull-up jumper. Pointer found Newby on a pick-and-roll with 5:50 left in the first quarter to give LSU its first lead of the game, 6-5, but the Razorbacks scored the next five. Out of the media timeout, Cherry hit her second pull-up jumper to tie the game at 10. After Cherry and Newby scored LSU’s first 10, Ryann Payne gave LSU a one-point lead with a free-throw and then Hannah Gusters got involved, but Arkansas’ Daniels responded with a three to tie it then Amber Ramirez hit a trey to take the lead back. Payne made her first basket and LSU trailed, 16-15 after one quarter. After going scoreless and 0-2 in the first quarter, Pointer hit her first shot attempt of the second quarter to give LSU a 17-16 lead. Arkansas took the lead back on the next possession and then hit its fourth and fifth threes to go up, 24-17. Payne ended the run with a jumper from the right baseline, but Arkansas came back down the court and sank its third three in a row and LSU called timeout. Ramirez pulled up from 20 for Arkansas to go up by 10 and then the Razorbacks scored on a fast-break off of LSU’s eighth turnover to go up 31-19 and LSU took another timeout at the 4:48 mark. LSU went to a small, four-guard lineup out of the timeout. Faustine Aifuwa, the only LSU big in the game, scored on the Tigers’ first possession with the small lineup. Awa Trasi soon replaced Cherry in the game as LSU went with a bit more size. Pointer was called for an offensive foul, her second personal, and Cherry replaced her and promptly hit a shot. Aifuwa picked up her second with 1:24 left in the half and was replaced by Newby who made a nice move in the post to score and make it 37-27 on her first offensive possession back in, but LSU ultimately went into the half trailing, 39-28, its largest halftime deficit this season. Arkansas made six threes in the first half and shot 40-percent from beyond the arc compared to no made threes by LSU. The Razorbacks scored 11 points off of 11 LSU turnovers. Alexis Morris got her first points of the game, scoring the first four points of the half, but Ramirez responded with two straight threes. The teams went back and forth as LSU was unable to reduce the lead by much and Arkansas was able to extend it. Arkansas led 48-40 at the media timeout. Ramirez kept the hot hand for the Razorbacks and put them up 56-44 with her fifth made three with 3:34 left in the quarter. With LSU on a scoring drought, Arkansas finished the quarter on a 12-1 run to go up 65-45 as the Tigers didn’t score for the final 2:49 of the third. Pointer hit LSU’s first three-pointer with 3:40 left in the game to reduce the deficit to 17 points, but LSU never strung a run together to threaten the lead Arkansas had built. |
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