Da Boot Sports
11/28/2021
LSU Sports Information
By: LSU Staff


​   SAN JUAN, P.R. – For the second game in two days it was Khayla Pointer’s scoring attack that led LSU to victory at the San Juan Shootout as the Tigers defeated Missouri St., 66-58, Saturday in the Coliseo Roberto Clemente.
“I am just so proud of the girls for how they competed today,” said Head Coach Kim Mulkey.
LSU (5-1) is heading back to Baton Rouge with a test on the horizon. The Tigers will host No. 13 Iowa St. Thursday on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. CT in the PMAC for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
The Kim Mulkey Show is scheduled to begin Tuesday at 7 p.m. at TJ Ribs.
Saturday’s win over Missouri St. was a big one for LSU as the Lady Bears have made consecutive runs to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and have a senior-heavy roster. On Friday in Puerto Rico, Missouri State defeated a Virginia Tech team ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll.
“This game is a big win for our program heading in the right direction,” said Coach Mulkey. “That team is a darn good team.”
LSU went into the half with a nine-point lead, but Missouri St. went on a run early in the second half to tie the game.
“When they made their run, we came back, we made big shots, we ran the plays, we got the ball in the hands of the people that need to touch it,” said Coach Mulkey.
Pointer had 25 points during LSU’s winning effort, providing a spark in the third quarter to end the Missouri St. run. Autumn Newby played physical and was big on the boards, leading the Tigers with 10 rebounds. Although the stat sheet won’t show it, Ryann Payne stepped up big on defense, providing pressure and forcing turnovers. She led LSU with three assists too.
Jasmine Franklin, the nation’s leading rebounder, had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Sydney Wilson led the Lady Bears with 19 points.
“I thought we held her (Franklin) in check,” said Coach Mulkey. “She ended up getting a double-double, but I just thought the job Autumn Newby did on her was tremendous.”
After Faustine Aifuwa scored the first bucket of the game on a baseline inbounds play, Missouri St. rattled off eight straight and Coach Mulkey was forced to take an early timeout. The Tigers used defensive pressure to fuel 7-0 run later in the quarter to go up, 15-14. With the game tied at 18, LSU had the ball for the final possession of the quarter. Newby set a pick for Payne who missed the initial shot, but Jailin Cherry collected the offensive board and dished it back to Payne who hit a floater from the left wing as time expired to give LSU a 20-18 lead.
The Tigers took the momentum early in the second quarter with buckets from Cherry, Pointer and Hannah Gusters to build a 26-20 lead, forcing a Lady Bears timeout. LSU’s momentum was built with stifling defense, causing Missouri St. to miss its first five shots in the second quarter. By the time Cherry intercepted a pass and scored a fast break layup at the 3:19 mark of the quarter, LSU had built its largest lead, 33-22. The Tigers went into the half holding a nine-point lead, 25-26.
LSU was forced to take an early timeout in the third quarter when Missouri St. went on a 6-0 run to make it a 37-32 game. The Lady Bears continued their run out of the timeout and by the 4:55 mark in the quarter, they had climbed back to tie the game at 40. Pointer’s 10 points in the quarter allowed LSU to hold a 48-45 lead going into the final quarter.
LSU scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter as the Tigers looked to hold its lead. Pointer was huge for, scoring four of those seven during the run to build LSU’s lead back to 10 as Missouri St. called timeout. Out of the timeout the Lady Bears scored five unanswered, refusing to go away. With time expiring late in the shot clock, Morris pulled up from deep and banked in her first three in a LSU uniform to end the Lady Bears’ mini run.  The Tigers were able to hit their free-throws when Missouri St. began to foul, holding on to win the game.

Da Boot Sports
11/27/2021
LSU Sports Information
By: LSU Staff


   SAN JUAN, P.R. – The LSU Women’s Basketball team used a crucial third quarter run, led by Khayla Pointer, to come away with a 72-52 victory over New Mexico State Friday during a physical contest in the Coliseo Roberto Clemente at the San Juan Shootout.
The Tigers, who struggled to find a rhythm in the first half due to NMSU’s physical play, outscored the Aggies, 43-22, in the second half to improve to 4-1.
“(New Mexico State) came out physical,” said Head Coach Kim Mulkey. “They were fired up. They were excited. We were kind of flat footed for whatever reason.”
Pointer helped the Tigers get going after a slow first half. Sixteen of her 20 points came in the second half as she helped lead the charge after the slow start. Alexis Morris finished with 12 points and also had 7 rebounds. Faustine Aifuwa’s 8 rebounds were a game-high.
“We don’t win today without Khayla Pointer, and we ran a lot of stuff for her,” Mulkey said.
Bigue Sarr had 13 points for NMSU and Sofia Inoussa finished with 11 as the only two Aggies to reach double figures.  Three Aggies finished with four rebounds and Maggie Isbell led the way for them with four assists.
LSU will take on Missouri State Saturday at 11:15 a.m. CT to wrap up play in Puerto Rico. The game will be streamed on Flohoops and fans can listen on the LSU Sports Radio Network 107.3 in Baton Rouge or online at lsusports.net/live. The Grizzlies defeated Virginia Tech Friday in San Juan and feature the nation’s leading rebounder in Jasmine Franklin.
“Experience matters,” Coach Mulkey said. “The tougher the competition, you need your most experienced players on the floor. Missouri State is a Sweet-Sixteen team from last year.
“They have the leading rebounder in the entire country. I’m so impressed what I’ve seen them do here, but also on film. It’s going to be a tough one for us.”
The Tigers got off to a slow start Friday at the San Juan Shootout. The game lacked rhythm and NMSU was able to play physical and prevent LSU from finding its groove. After Awa Trasi scored the first five for LSU, NMSU went on a 9-0 run. The Tigers continued to hang in there and were able to reduce the deficit to two at the end of the quarter, despite not playing their best basketball.
Aifuwa tied the game at 17 on the first possession of the second quarter, banking in a shot from the top of the key, but every time the Tigers would get close to jumping in front, the Aggies would get a score to stay out in the lead. The Tigers trailed by as many as six in the quarter, but by the time Ryann Payne went to the free-throw line before the half and made one of two, it was a one-point game and then Aifuwa blocked a last second shot attempt from NMSU as LSU trailed, 30-29, at the half.
The Tigers struggled to score the ball in the first half, making just 9 of 33 shot attempts and going 0-7 from beyond the arc. In addition to that, despite drawing 17 first half fouls, LSU shot just 37.5-percent from the free-throw line.
Pointer gave LSU the lead on the opening possession of the third quarter, setting up a big half for the guard. Behind Pointer’s lead and great defensive pressure, the Tigers gained momentum and were eventually able to build a lead. In the middle part of the third quarter, LSU scored 10 straight and never looked back, going on a 15-3 run. The quarter ended fittingly with a buzzer-beater three-pointer from Pointer to give her 10 in the quarter and LSU a 53-46 lead. Morris also had 6 in the quarter.
LSU’s suffocating defense continued to force the Aggies to make mistakes and LSU was able to extend its lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter. LSU outscored NMSU 16-9 in the quarter and pointer scored her final six as the Tigers were able to pick up the 20-point win behind a great second half performance.

Da Boot Sports
11/24/2021
LSU Sports Information

​
   BATON ROUGE – The LSU Women’s Basketball team (3-1) handed Tulane (4-1) its first loss of the season Tuesday night in the PMAC as the Tigers defeated the Green Wave by a score of 75-58. 
   Center Faustine Aifuwa played big for the Tigers with a team-high 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. In addition to Aifuwa, four other Tigers finished the night with double figures; Khayla Pointer (14), Alexis Morris (12), Autumn Newby (11) and Jailin Cherry (10). Newby was one rebound away from a double-double, leading LSU with nine.
   “If we are going to score that many people in double-figures every night, we’re going to compete,” said Head Coach Kim Mulkey. “The five right there, what do they have? They have experience. They have experience and there’s no substitute for that.”
   Tuesday was the fourth straight game this year in which the Tigers put up 70+ points.
   Tulane came into the game undefeated already with a road win over an SEC opponent in Alabama. 
  Moon Ursin, the graduate transfer who played for Coach Mulkey at Baylor, had 13 points and 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double for Tulane. Dynah Jones had a game-high 18 points for the Green Wave.
   Next up, the Tigers are set to travel to Puerto Rico for the San Juan Shootout over Thanksgiving. LSU will play in the Coliseo Roberto Clemente on Friday at 1:30 p.m. CT against New Mexico State and on Saturday at 11:15 a.m. against Missouri State. Both of the games will be available to be streamed on Flohoops.
   After the teams remained close through the first five minutes in the first quarter, the Tigers began to separate themselves. LSU used a 10-2 run late in the opening quarter to extend its lead to 10 before the Green Wave scored the final four points of the quarter. After one, LSU led, 18-12. Pointer led the Tigers with 6 points in the opening quarter.
   The Green Wave began the second quarter with two quick baskets to cut the lead to three. After a layup by Aifuwa, Cherry hit back-to-back mid-range jumpers and then Pointer nailed a three in transition after a dish from Morris, giving the Tigers a 9-0 run and forcing Tulane to take a timeout with LSU holding a 10-point lead. Out of the timeout, LSU got a stop and Pointer was able to score a layup on a designed give-and-go handoff play. On the next defensive possession, Newby intercepted a pass, got fouled on the fast break layup attempt, and sank both free throws. The Tigers then forced a shot clock violation and Gusters was able to go to work in the post to give LSU a 15-0 run. 
   With a 33-17 lead, LSU’s run ended when Tulane’s Krystal Freeman sunk a pair of free throws. Cherry responded with her third mid-range shot of the quarter in as many tries. Cherry made her fourth bucket of the quarter as time expired in the half to give LSU a 41-24 lead at the break. The Tigers’ tenacious defense limited Tulane to just 25-percent shooting in the second quarter as the Green Wave only made two of their final 11 shots in the quarter.
   Tulane came out of the locker room for the third quarter attacking and the Tigers were forced to weather a bit of the storm. Tulane had cut into LSU’s lead that was 17 at the half down to nine when Newby lobbed a pass from the top of the key to Aifuwa who finished it in the paint and got fouled going into a media timeout. Despite missing the free throw out of the timeout, the play gave LSU some momentum back and stymied any major Tulane run. On LSU’s next offensive possession Aifuwa cleaned up the offensive glass, went back up, made the basket and got fouled, this time finishing the and-one. With the momentum back, LSU’s defense held Tulane without a basket the final 3:38 of the quarter.
   The Green Wave used a full-court zone press to cause havoc and had some success early in the fourth quarter, forcing two turnovers and increasing the pace of the game. Tulane worked hard to try to have a major fourth-quarter comeback, but LSU was able to ultimately extend its lead and finish with a 17-point victory to hand Tulane its first loss of the season.

Da Boot Sports
11/19/2021
LSU Sports Information
By: LSU Staff


   LAFAYETTE, La. – On the road for the first time this season, the LSU Women’s Basketball team (2-1) handed UL-Lafayette (2-1) its first loss of the season Thursday night in the Cajundome, 72-41.
“It’s a win against an in-state school and you all know we’ve got some wonderful schools in this state,” said Coach Kim Mulkey. “Everybody likes to take a shot at you when you play on a home court, so I get nervous when we don’t play at home against an in-state school.”
The Tigers will host an in-state school next Tuesday in Tulane when the Green Wave come to the PMAC for a 6 p.m. CT tip. LSU will then head to Puerto Rico over Thanksgiving for two games at the San Juan Shootout.”
After seeing some time at the guard position throughout the early season, Awa Trasi was moved back to being a full-time forward when Alexis Morris was ruled eligible. In her first game back playing in the post, Trasi led the Tigers with 17 points and added 6 rebounds. Her and fellow forward Autumn Newby, who had a game-high 12 rebounds, saw extended minutes due to centers Faustine Aifuwa and Hannah Gusters being in foul trouble.
“​​We’ve got to grind things out,” Coach Mulkey said. “I thought this kid next to me [Awa Trasi], I moved her to the post when Alexis Morris got eligible last week and she’s been in the gym on her own and she was big for us tonight.”
Guard Ryann Payne had 11 points for the Tigers and Morris added 10.
“I thought Ryann was good and I thought Awa was good,” said Coach Mulkey. “I thought Autumn was good on the boards. So we’re a kind of team that it’s going to be hard to do a scouting report on us because I doubt either one of those kids (Ryann and Awa) will be on the scouting report as one of your offensive players for LSU, but they did their job tonight.”
The Cajuns’ leading scorers were junior guard Brandi Williams and sophomore guard Destiny Rice, who both finished with 10 points. Rice also grabbed 7 boards. LSU held Ty’Reona Doucet, the Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year, to 2 points.
LSU used stout defense, forcing 26 ULL turnovers, to earn the first road victory of the Coach Kim Mulkey Era. The Tigers held the Cajuns to 26.9-percent shooting the ball and only allowed 4 second chance points. LSU outrebounded them, 52-29.
Both teams got off to a slow start offensively. Morris made LSU’s lone bucket through the first five minutes of the game and the Tigers trailed the Cajuns, 4-3, at the first media timeout. Out of the timeout the two teams got into the flow on offense a little more. Morris scored after a crossover dribble with 3:26 left in the quarter and on the ensuing defensive possession, Payne forced a turnover and made a contested layup on the fast break. ULL tied it up at 7 with a three on the other end and later took a 9-7 lead.  Hannah Gusters recorded her first bucket of the game on an and-one, converting the free throw and the quarter ended with the teams tied at 10. The Tigers forced 10 turnovers in the quarter, but shot only 25-percent from the field.
Payne started the second quarter with her second steal of the game and finished it on the other end with another fast-break layup. Both of LSU’s bigs, Aifuwa and Gusters, committed their second fouls early in the second quarter, giving Newby and Trasi extended minutes. With 5:48 remaining, Awa Trasi made an excellent move to get by her defender and converted a layup off of the window to give LSU a 17-12 lead into the media timeout. Out of the timeout, Payne hit a three from the right wing to give the Tigers an eight-point lead thanks to an 8-0 run. Trasi fought through contact to make a contested layup to give the Tigers a 24-14 lead on the heels of a 12-2 run. The half ended with three-pointers from Pointer and Trasi as the Tigers finished the half on a 18-2 run, extending their lead to 30-14.
After a stagnant first quarter, the Tigers outscored the Cajuns in the second, 20-4, and shot 44.4-percent from the field, including going 3-4 from long range. Payne and Trasi led the Tigers with 7 points each in the quarter. LSU’s tight first-half defense caused 17 turnovers and limited ULL 22.7-percent shooting the ball.
Trasi continued to play well for the Tigers, leading the offense in the third quarter. Using quality ball movement, the Tigers were able to get multiple players good looks on the offensive end and LSU continued to pull away from ULL. On a fast-break after a ULL air ball, Jailin Cherry missed a layup, but Pointer was there on the follow and got fouled on the putback. She made the bucket after a hard foul and sunk the free-throw to give the Tigers a 51-29 lead. The Cajuns made four free-throws to end the quarter as LSU led, 51-33, heading into the fourth.
With a large lead, LSU slowed the pace of the game down. Freshman Timia Ware made the most of her time on the floor as she was able to score 4 points in just 4 minutes as her and some other players such as Amani Bartlett, Ajae Petty, Sarah Shematsi and Emily Ward were able to get some minutes in the 29-points victory.

Da Boot Sports
11/17/2021
LSU SportsInformation
By: LSU Staff


   BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – LSU Guard Khayla Pointer has been named the SEC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week after posting a triple-double and a double-double in the opening week of the season for the Tigers.
   This is the second time in Pointer’s career she has been named SEC Player of the Week. The 5-7 guard was named to the All-SEC Team last season and is on the Preseason Wooden Award Watchlist. She shot 53-percent from the field in the opening week of the season and averaged 19.5 points (No. 2 in the SEC), 10.5 rebounds (No. 2 in the SEC) and 9 assists (T-No. 1 in the SEC). Throughout the young the season Pointer has averaged 38.14 minutes played to lead the conference.
   The Marietta, Georgia native became just the third player in program history, joining Katherine Graham (2010) and Cornelia Gayden (twice in the 1994-95 season), to notch a triple-double when she did so in the season opener against Nicholls. Pointer went for 16 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, leading the Tigers to victory. Pointer is also one of just three active players in the SEC to have a triple-double in their career along with South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston and Tennessee’s Tamari Key.
   “I got to see history too,” Coach Mulkey said after the game. “I’ve had triple-doubles in my career as a head coach, but here in the first game, I’m proud of her.”
   “I think I found out (I was close) somewhere in the third quarter,” Pointer explained. “We were out there having fun. I honestly didn’t notice. I didn’t notice when the assists happened or the rebounds, except for when it got to the end. My teammates do a great job of making me look well. I set them up for open shots and they knock down the shots.”
   Pointer followed up her triple-double performance with a double-double in the second game of the season against FGCU. She played all 40 minutes and finished the game with 23 points and 10 rebounds, adding 5 assists in the 88-74 loss to the Eagles. Sunday’s double-double was the sixth of Pointer career.
   LSU is set to hit the road for the first time of the Coach Mulkey Era when the Tigers face Louisiana-Lafayette at 6 p.m. CT Thursday in the Cajun Dome. Tulane will come to town next Tuesday, November 23 at 6 p.m. for LSU’s return to the PMAC before heading to Puerto Rico for the San Juan Classic over Thanksgiving.
​

Da Boot Sports
11/14/2021
By: Terrill J. Weil


BATON ROUGE, LA: LSU lost their first game of the season, 88-74 to a very good Florida Gulf Coast team in the PMAC on Sunday afternoon. FGC is known for having a very successful women's basketball program and they showed it as they played fast and furious, with solid play and red hot shooting throughout the contest. The Lady Tigers just couldn't keep pace with the Eagles' three point shooting assault.


Florida Gulf Coast controlled the opening tip and wasted no time as Keirstan Bell hit a three point jumper just five seconds into the contest. The Lady Tigers quickly answered as Khayla Pointer would bank in a layup and draw a foul, sending her to the line. Pointer completed the three point play to tie the ball game up 3-3 with 9:30 on the clock. The game would stay at a furious pace as both teams played fast and physical, but it would be FGC who would pick it up a notch to go on a 13-6 run over the next three minutes, taking a 16-9 lead. The Lady Tigers responded by going on a run of their own over the final six minutes of the 1st period, outscoring the Eagles 14-8. FGC would hold a 24-23 lead at the end of the period.
Alexis Morris would put the Lady Tigers on the board first in the 2nd quarter, hitting a quick jumper 30 seconds into the period. Pointer followed Morris' shot with one of her own, hitting a jumper to give LSU a 27-24 lead with 9:03 left in the half. The Eagles continued to play at a relentless pace, going on a 9-6 run over the next four minutes to find us all knotted up at 33-33. FGC would continue to put on a clinic with great ball movement and blowing by LSU players to score as they would end the first half going on a 13-10 run to take a 46-43 lead into the locker room at the half.
FGC shot 18-33 from the floor for 55% while LSU went 18-41 for 44%. The Eagles were blazing hot from behind the three point arc as they hit 8-14 in the 1st half for 57%. LSU could only manage one three pointer in the first 20 minutes going 1-3 for 33%. .... LSU was able to dominate the boards outrebounding the Eagles 24-17.
Kayla Pointer scored 16 points in the first half to lead the Lady Tigers, ... Alexis Morris finished with 7 points, ... Ryann Payne would contribute 6, ... while Newby, Trasi, and Aifuwa each had 4 points at the break.


Florida Gulf Coast remained hot as a pistol to start the 3rd quarter, as they would go on a 11-1 run over the first three minutes of the period to extend their lead to 57-44 at the 6:56 mark. LSU simply couldn't cool off or keep up with the Eagles as FGC continued to score in spurts, this time going on a 11-6 run to build a 18 point lead, 68-50 with 3:36 to go in the 3rd. The Lady Tigers showed no signs of quitting as they would battle back to outscore the Eagles 6-2 to end the 3rd period, putting the score at FGC 70, LSU 56...
Trailing by 14 going into the 4th period, LSU continued to have their hands full with the hot outside shooting of FGC. The Lady Tigers fought hard trying to cut into the Eagles lead, but both teams played even in the final period scoring 18 points each, as Florida Gulf Coast would win their 23rd straight road game, 88-74.
With the loss, LSU falls to 1-1, while FGC improves to 3-0 on the season.


The difference in the ball games was three point shooting. Florida Gulf Coast hit 14-25 from behind the arc for 56%... The Lady Tigers finished the contest with only one three pointer, going 1-6 for 16%...

Pointer finished with a double-double scoring 23 points while grabbing 10 rebounds.... Alexis Morris added 12, and Faustine Aifuwa finished with 10 points.

Next the Lady Tigers will travel right down the road to Lafayette to take on the Lady Cajuns on Thursday, Nov. 18 in the Cajundome... Tipoff is set for 6:00pm

Da Boot Sports
​11/10/2021
By: Brittney Achord

  BATON ROUGE, LA: Kim Mulkey and the LSU Lady Tigers were out to prove their worth this season and they started out with a record breaking season opener against the NSU Colonels. Shooting 34-64 from the floor for 53.1%, banking in 20 of 27 layups, hitting 6-14 three pointers for 43%, 44 rebounds, and forcing 20 turnovers. The Lady Tigers held Nicholls State to their lowest scoring game in two years, and broke two records in the process. Mulkey's ladies made quite the statement that they will be a force during the 2021-2022 season. 

  Khayla Pointer became the third player in LSU history to score a triple double with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. Faustine Aifuwa's eight points boosted her into the 1,000 point club with 1,001 career points to join in celebration in this record setting season opener.  In a post game press conference, Pointer stated, "When we are out there having fun, I did not notice when an assist happened or when a rebound happened until it got towards the end. My teammates do a great job of making me look well. I set them up for open shots, they knock down the shots sometimes and sometimes I get the rebound. I could not have gotten those nor the triple double without them." 

  The phrase "lead by example" was shown exponentially on the court on Tuesday. Sophomore Hannah Gusters proved to be a ferocious Tiger with 19 points and six rebounds. Jailin Cherry also helped lead the Lady Tigers to victory today with 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists. 

  As the PMAC vibrated with fans chanting "LSU...LSU...LSU" over and over, as the Lady Tigers took to the court. The whistle sounded and sophomore Hannah Gusters ignited into the air giving LSU the ball first. Khayla Pointer banked in back-to-back layups followed by a jumper by Ryann Payne set the tempo for the contest, giving the Lady Tigers a 6-0 lead. After both teams settled into a back-and-forth battle, Faustine Aifuwa would steal the ball setting Autumn Newby up for a layup bringing the score to a 10-5 lead. With 49 seconds left in the first quarter, Jailin Cherry forced another turnover leading to Aifuwa sinking a layup to put the Lady Tigers up 12-5 at the end of the 1st quarter.

   LSU would not let up going into the 2nd quarter. A steal and layup by Ryann Payne, a three point jumper, followed by a fouled jumper and an "and one" foul shot by Pointer gave the Lady Tigers a 6-0 run to start the 2nd quarter. Three minutes later NSU's Chelsea Cain scored on a jumper bringing the score to 20-7.  While the Lady Colonels would begin to fight back, it would be no match for the fierce Lady Tigers. LSU responded with a 17-0 run as Hannah Gusters put up back-to-back layups. Ryann Payne scored six points on two three point plays. Jailin Cherry scored four points on back-to-back layups. Autumn Newby scored two on an assist from Payne, followed by Timia Ware ended the half sinking a free throw. The Lady Tigers went into the half leading 39-10.

   LSU would continue to pounce on the Colonels in the 3rd period as they would extend their lead to as much as 35 points, going up 55-20 with 2:32 left in the quarter. Nicholls would answer with a 8-0 run, taking advantage of LSU foul trouble. But the Lady Tigers respond finishing off the 3rd period with five straight points including a Khayla Pointer layup that lit up the PMAC. The Tigers would head to the fourth and final quarter leading 60-28.

   LSU would roar into the 4th Quarter with Hannah Gusters once again getting the Tigers on the board with a layup on the fast break. Sarah Shematsi would hit her first three pointer of her LSU career, as the quarter progressed. Khayla Pointer's two point jumper, three assists and three rebounds in the period landed her with her first triple double. Then with just over four minutes left in the contest, Autumn Newby would steal the ball, passing it to Faustine Aifuwa who amplified the PMAC with a made layup that put her over 1,000 career points.  The Lady Tigers shot 72.7% in the final quarter, outscoring Nicholls 22-12, to capture win #1 of the Kim Mulkey era, 82-40.

In a post game conference, Coach Mulkey stated, "We have to defend and we have to defend the entire court, the entire game no matter what the score is." She went on to discuss strategy adding, “Quit looking at the clock and don’t worry about the score.” The Lady Tigers did just that and it showed its effectiveness. In closing, Mulkey told the press, "We have only just begun." 

The Lady Tigers prepare to take on Florida Gulf Coast in the PMAC on Sunday, November 14. Tip off is set for 12:30 pm. This match up will be aired on SEC+ Network. Go out and buy your tickets now! Check back with Da Boot Sports for game coverage and photos.

Photos Below By: Brittney Achord

Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi

Da Boot Sports
11/5/2021
By: Terrill J. Weil

   BATON ROUGE, LA: Kim Mulkey and her LSU Lady Tigers would host Loyola for their final exhibition game of the season. After a close first period, the Lady Tigers would pull away for a dominating 87-48 victory. 
   The Kim Mulkey era will now begin for real when the season officially starts on Tuesday Nov. 9th. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center against Nicholls. Tipoff is set for 11:00am


   The Lady Tigers got on the board first after Loyola controlled the opening tip and failed to score, as Sarah Shematsi would hit a shot from behind the arc to give LSU a 3-0 lead. The Wolf Pack would quickly answer the other way with a three pointer from Kate Petrovic to tie things up 3-3. Both teams would trade three pointers again over the next two possessions knotting the game up at 6-6 at the 8:18 mark. Over the next four minutes both teams continued to play well, keeping the score even at 12-12. Loyola continued to give LSU all they could handle in the opening period using their speed and quickness while hitting nice shots from the outside going on a 7-5 run to grab a 19-17 lead with 8 seconds left. But Khayla Pointer fired up and hit deep three from the top of the key at the buzzer to give the Lady Tigers a 20-19 lead at the end of the first period.
   Over the first three and a half minutes of the second period the pesky Lady Wolf Pack would continue to give LSU fits, pulling the game even at 25-25. But the Lady Tigers would finally settle down and begin to heat up, taking control of the contest. In the final six minutes of the half, LSU would start to use their height advantage to outrebound Loyola, scoring easily in the paint to go on a 17-1 run, taking a 42-26 lead into the locker room at the half.
   Khayla Pointer led the team with 18 first half points while Newby and Shematsi added six points each. LSU shot a decent 45% from the floor making 15-33 field goals. The Lady Tigers would also go 4-11 from behind the three point arc, while going 8-11 from the free throw line. Like this past Saturday, LSU had several turnovers in the first half, committing 12.
   Defensively the Lady Tigers struggled early with a well coached Loyola squad who ran the floor nicely and shot well in the first period. LSU would go on to outscore the Lady Wolf Pack 22-7 in the second period, while forcing Loyola into 16 turnovers. The taller Lady Tigers also managed to win the first half rebound battle, 22-13.


   Loyola opened the scoring to start the third period with a three point jumper by Taylor Thomas with 8:53 on the clock, cutting the LSU lead to 42-29. But the Lady Tigers would pick up right where they left off in the second period, taking quick control of the game, going on a 11-0 run over the next five minutes to grab a 53-29 lead with 4:12 left in the period. The LSU man-to-man defense would frustrate Loyola through the rest of the period, forcing the Lady Wolf Pack to take bad shots and force several turnovers to help start a 14-5 run to end the third period, giving LSU a 67-34 lead.
   Sydni Tangle would start the final period hitting a three pointer for Loyola to cut the LSU lead to 30 points, 67-37. But Timia Ware quickly answered on the other end for LSU hitting a three herself. 70-37 with 9:10 left in the game. Just as Coach Mulkey did late in the game this past Saturday, she would begin to put in different lineup combinations while emptying the bench. LSU continued to aggressively dominate the offensive boards, giving themselves several second chance points as the Lady Tigers held on to their 30 point advantage, 72-42 at the 6:12 mark. LSU would finish the game on a 15-7 run as bench players battled hard until the final seconds. 

   Khayla Pointer led the team with 24 points, Jailin Cherry added 12 points, while Hannah Gusters contributed 11. Autumn Newby had another great game on the boards grabbing 12 rebounds while adding 9 points. 

   “Every time we get on the floor, we get better,” said head coach Kim Mulkey. “We are scoring a lot of points in the two exhibition games, but I still feel like, honestly, our defense is really wearing people down.”

Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi

Photos Below By: Jonathan Mailhes