Da Boot Sports
12/31/2021
LSU Sports Information
By: LSU Staff

      ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 19 LSU Women’s Basketball opened SEC play on the road at No. 13 Georgia with a 68-62 victory, winning its 12th consecutive game, Thursday night in Stegeman Coliseum.
   “It’s their first SEC win with a new coach, a change in philosophy, a change in staff,” said Head Coach Kim Mulkey. “We were shorthanded, didn’t have Ryann (Payne) here to relieve those guards any.
   “I just was so proud of them. We pretty much handled the whole game until they went to their 3-2 zone (in the third quarter). They don’t play much zone.”
   LSU’s three guards of Jailin Cherry, Alexis Morris and Khayla Pointer played all 40 minutes with Payne absent.
Pointer led the Tigers with 21 points and hit two threes late in the fourth quarter as LSU held on for the victory after Georgia went on a late run. The Tigers led by as many as 16 and did not trail until the fourth quarter, but Georgia went on a fourth quarter run to take the lead that was never greater than one. After a series of errors from Pointer during Georgia’s run, she redeemed herself with two threes late in the fourth quarter.
   “She comes right back and basically wins the game for you when she hits a big time three,” Coach Mulkey said of her point guard. “Great players have to have a short memory. They can’t be afraid to fail. I compliment that young lady.”
   Faustine Aifuwa finished with 17 points, 9 rebounds and two blocks and Cherry had 10 points, 3 assists and 3 steals. Autumn Newby had nine points and was big on the boards with 10 rebounds.
  Seniors Aifuwa, Newby and Pointer – all Georgia natives – were all pivotal for the Tigers in their final visit to Stegeman Coliseum.
   Que Morrison led the Bulldogs with 26 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Georgia’s Jenna Staiti, who leads the Bulldogs with 14.17 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, did not play as she was in health and safety protocol.
   Thursday’s win was LSU’s second win over a Top-15 team after defeating No. 14 Iowa State in early December. The Tigers have two more games against ranked opponents coming up at home, hosting No. 23 Texas A&M on Sunday and No. 1 South Carolina, who lost tonight at Missouri, next Thursday night.
   LSU got off to a quick start, sinking its first three baskets – two shots by Newby and a three from Pointer. Aifuwa got into the mix early too, scoring two buckets in the post to give LSU a 11-2 lead. At the 4:28 mark in the quarter Pointer found Cherry to give LSU a 15-11 lead, her 500th career assist. Georgia’s Morrison had 11 first quarter points to keep the Bulldogs in the mix as LSU held a 20-17 lead at the end of one.
  A pair of Morrison free throws early in the second quarter brought Georgia within one, but back-to-back made shots from Gusters and Pointer gave LSU a 25-21 lead. Morrison continued to score for Georgia though as she started the game 7-9 and once again made it a one-point game. But again LSU extended the lead back to five with Newby and Morris makes, holding a 30-25 lead at the media timeout. Out of the timeout though, Georgia mounted a 6-0 run to bring it back within one, but LSU responded and continued to retain the lead. With under 30 seconds left in the half Pointer drew an and-one and then off a Georgia miss she took the ball and banked in a three at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 41-33 lead going into the break.
   Pointer’s late-half spurt gave her 14 after two quarters to lead the Tigers, but it was LSU’s ability to score the ball in the paint that gave them the edge at halftime. LSU outscored Georgia in the paint, 22-14.
   Scoring the first eight points of the half, LSU built its lead up, 49-33. Morrison promptly responded for Georgia with a pull-up three in transition. LSU went cold midway through the quarter when the Bulldogs switched from a man defense to zone and Georgia went on a run to make it a three point game, but Aifuwa ended the Tigers’ drought with under a minute left to give LSU a 54-49 lead with one quarter to play. LSU shot just 33.3-percent in the third quarter after shooting 58.1-percent in the first half.
   Georgia took its first lead in the game after scoring the first seven points in the quarter, capped off by a three from Barker. Cherry put LSU back in front with a layup on the fastbreak to end the Georgia run. Over the next few minutes the two teams traded baskets, the lead not jumping greater than one for Georgia or LSU. That changed when Pointer hit a three with 2:14 remaining to give the Tigers a 62-60 lead and Coach Mulkey promptly called a timeout to organize the defense. Morrison tied the game out of the timeout and it remained that way until Pointer hit a three with one minute remaining and the shot clock winding down. Morris made it a five point game, sinking two free-throws with 10.9 seconds remaining.

Da Boot Sports
12/27/2021
LSU Sports Information
By: LSU Staff


   BATON ROUGE – The No. 19 LSU Women’s Basketball team won its 11th game in a row, closing out its nonconference schedule with an 83-47 win over Samford in front of a season-high crowd of 6,614 in the PMAC.The Tigers will enter SEC play with a 12-1 record, their best nonconference record since going 14-1 during the 2006-07 season. LSU will kick off its conference schedule with games against three ranked teams.
   LSU will open SEC play up on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT at Georgia in a top-20 matchup against the No. 13 Bulldogs. The Tigers will return home for their SEC opener on Sunday, January 2 to host No. 23 Texas A&M and then will face No. 1 South Carolina on Thursday, January 6.
   “The nonconference is over,” said Head Coach Kim Mulkey. “Flush it. 12-1. The only better is if you’d have gone 13-0. But it means nothing at this point. We want to finish in the upper half of this league, get to the NCAA Tournament and every night is just going to be a battle.”
   Jailin Cherry led the Tigers with a career-high 22 points, 16 of which came in the first half. She also added six rebounds. Khayla Pointer had her fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds, finishing just shy of a triple-double with eight assists. Ajae Petty also had a standout performance for LSU as she also set a career-high with 12 points off the bench.
   “It was fun to be out there,” said Cherry. “It is my last season here and my main thing this year was just having fun. My teammates found me and I knocked down shots.”
   “It’s just really been a process just trusting in the coaching staff and taking in everything that I can,” Petty said. “I also have great players ahead of me in Autumn (Newby), Hannah (Gusters), and Faustine (Aifuwa). I just learn from them every day and continue to keep my head straight.”
   Sussy Ngulefac had a team-high 18 points for and 8 rebounds for Samford and Andrea Cournoyer added 11.
LSU held Samford to 27-percent shooting the ball and the Tigers finished 45.9-percent from the field. The Tigers were dominant inside, finishing with 40 points in the paint. They also forced 16 turnovers which led to 23 LSU points. 
   After LSU scored the first four points to begin the game, Pointer found Ryann Payne on the left wing for LSU’s first three pointer of the game. Cherry got her first bucket of the game the following possession to give the Tigers a 9-0 advantage before Samford got on the board. Samford hit a three out of the media timeout to go on a 7-0 run and make it a two point game. LSU closed the quarter on a 10-2 run, capped off by Cherry intercepting a pass and scoring on a fast break as time expired to give LSU a 19-9 lead.
   Sarah Shematsi scored her only points of the night on a baseline inbound play to give LSU a 30-9 lead as the Tigers opened the second quarter by expanding their lead. Cherry was big in the second quarter, dropping 10 points to bring her scoring total to 16 at the half, tying her season-high. The Tigers held the Bulldogs to just five points in the quarter, going into the half with a 42-14 lead.
   In the half LSU limited Samford to 15.6-percent shooting from the field. The Bulldogs were 5-of-32 in the first half and made just one basket in the second quarter.
   On LSU’s first possession of the third quarter Pointer cleaned up on the offensive glass and eventually got the ball back, hitting a three from the left wing. Unlike in the first two quarters, Samford scored the ball better in the third and was outscoring LSU in the quarter, 13-11, going into the media timeout.
   With 3:06 remaining in the quarter, Cherry set her new career-high as she hit a pull-up jumper from the left baseline. Petty got her name in the scorebook with under a minute left in the third quarter, grabbing a board on the offensive glass and laying it back up and in. With time running out in the quarter Pointer hit a three to give LSU a 62-29 lead.
   Petty scored the first five points of the fourth quarter for LSU, including a three-point play to open the quarter. She finished with a career-high 9 points. With LSU holding a commanding lead Grace Hall, who hit a three, and Emily Ward saw action late in the final quarter as the Tigers closed out its non conference schedule with a victory.  

Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi

Da Boot Sports
​12/22/2021
LSU Sports Information
By: LSU Staff


      BATON ROUGE – The No. 21 LSU Women’s Basketball team won their 10th game in a row and improved to 11-1 as the Tigers defeated Texas Tech Tuesday afternoon, 74-60, in the squad’s final game in the West Palm Beach Invitational.
“It’s much more enjoyable to get on a long charter flight going back home after a win,” said Head Coach Kim Mulkey. “Merry Christmas to everyone. Thank goodness for all these LSU fans that showed up.”
   All five of LSU’s starters scored in double figures led by Khayla Pointer who had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Jailin Cherry put up a season-high 16 points with five rebounds and four assists. Alexis Morris scored in double figures for the 11th game in a row with 13 points and six assists. Autumn Newby recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 assists. Faustine Aifuwa rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points and eight rebounds.
   Rhyle McKinney led Texas Tech with 14 points and Bre’Amber Scott added 12. Taylah Thomas grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Red Raiders.
   The Tigers played big on the boards, out-rebounding the Red Raiders, 46-31. LSU grabbed 20 offensive rebounds.
“The kids started good,” said Coach Mulkey. “We’ve just got to – in certain parts of the game – clamp down and understand the value of a big lead.”
   LSU jumped out to an early lead and never trailed in the game. The Tigers led by 13 at the half and the lead never dipped below 10, but LSU was also unable to extend it significantly in the second half.
“We have to learn how to extend leads,” Coach Mulkey said.
   LSU will return to the court two days after Christmas on December 27th, as they are slated to take on the Samford Bulldogs in the PMAC at 6:00 p.m. CT with $1 tickets available to all fans. The game will be available for viewing on SEC Network+.
   LSU got off to a 6-0 start with contributions from Pointer, Aifuwa and Morris before Texas Tech got on the board with a pair of free throws. Cherry got on the board off a fast break pass from Morris to give LSU a 10-2 lead going into the media timeout. Out of the media timeout Pointer found Newby on the left block to give LSU a 12-2 lead as all five starters scored in the opening quarter. Texas Tech hit its first bucket of the game, a three, at the 4:27 mark after starting the game 0-5 from the field. Cherry hit back-to-back jumpers to give the Tigers a 16-5 lead as Texas Tech took a timeout. After an answer from the Red Raiders, Cherry hit her third straight bucket. The Tigers led by seven at the end of the first quarter.
   Texas Tech made the first shot of the second quarter one minute in to geti within five of LSU, 20-15. Through much of the early part of the second quarter the teams traded points, LSU’s lead never dipping below five. Morris reached double digits for the 12th consecutive game on a driving layup to give LSU a 30-21 game. 
   A few plays later Pointer hit a jumper to earn her 1,500th career point, giving LSU a 32-24 lead. She hit a three with the shot clock running down a couple possessions later to bring LSU’s lead back to nine and then hit a layup to make it 11. Pointer hit a baseline jumper with time in the half winding down, scoring LSU’s final nine points of the half and led a 7-0 LSU run as the Tigers took a 29-26 point lead into the break. 
   Cherry became the third starter to reach double digits scoring with her first made shot of the second half. She gave LSU its largest lead of the game, 45-31, a few possessions later. The Tigers led by 12 at the media timeout. At the 2:06 mark Morris stripped the ball, starting a fast break where Pointer found Aifuwa on a no-look pass to build a 15 point Tiger lead. Then after a Texas Tech three pointer, Morris drove baseline drawline contact and sank the runner, completing a three-point play. Everytime the Red Raiders scored, the Tigers seemed to respond and were able to limit Texas Tech from mounting any major runs. Despite LSU’s responses, Texas Tech remained in striking distance heading into the final quarter with LSU holding a 60-46 lead.
   After LSU scored the first four points of the quarter, Texas Tech scored the next four, keeping it close enough to mount a late run. Texas Tech hit a three right before the media timeout to make it a 13 point game with 4:51 remaining. But just like in the third quarter LSU limited any major runs with its lead never going below 13.

Da Boot Sports
12/21/2021
LSU Sports Information
By: LSU Staff


   West Palm Beach, Fla. – The No. 21 LSU Women’s Basketball team battled its way to its 10th victory of the season over Clemson, 70–56, Monday night at Keiser University in the West Palm Beach Invitational. 
“We just completed one of our goals,” said Head Coach Kim Mulkey. “One of our goals was to win 10 games in the non-conference. We just won 10 games which is more than they won last year.”
Khayla Pointer led the Tigers with 20 points and eight assists. Faustine Aifuwa recorded a double-double for the second straight game with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Alexis Morris also scored 12 points, her ninth game in a row with double figures.
LSU jumped out to a quick lead, but went cold midway through the first quarter before going 4-18 in the second quarter, battling to go into halftime tied. The Tigers played physical in the second half and built a lead to earn their 10th win of the season.
“We didn’t shoot it particularly well, but that happens,” Coach Mulkey said. “That’s why you’ve got to commit to defense. That’s why you’ve got to commit to rebounding. We knew they would rebound and leap and jump out of the gym.
“I thought we got some key rebounds, particularly on the offensive end at certain times in the game. We competed on the boards with them. I’m proud of them.”
Clemson entered Monday’s game averaging 17.7 offensive rebounds per game, but LSU limited Clemson to eight and only seven second chance points. LSU out-rebounded Clemson 40-34 throughout the game.
Kiara Lewis led Clemson with 13 points and Delicia Washington had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Washington had two of Clemson’s five total assists as LSU got in passing lanes, helping secure 12 steals.
The Tigers will play again Tuesday against Texas Tech at 2:30 p.m. CT for their second game in the West Palm Beach Invitational.
LSU shutdown Clemson’s offense through the first minutes of the game, jumping out to an early 7-0 lead as Clemson took a timeout. Clemson missed its first six shots of the game. Morris hit her first three of the game to give LSU a 10-0 lead. Clemson got on the board at the 5:20 mark with a three and ultimately closed the quarter on a 7-1 run with LSU holding a 15-12 lead.
Clemson scored the first four points of the second quarter to take a 16-15 lead, its first lead of the game. After finishing the first quarter on a cold streak shooting the ball, LSU’s offensive woes continued, going through a stretch where it made just 1-16 field goals. But LSU slowly started to get going offensively after a steal and fast break layup from Morris. LSU was able to go into the half with the score tied at 28 despite shooting just 4-18 in the second quarter.
LSU scored the first bucket of the second half to take the lead after Jailin Cherry threw a behind the back pass to Aifuwa who laid it in on the fast break to reach double digits. But Cherry and Aifuwa soon had to go to the bench in foul trouble, bot with three. They were replaced by Payne and Newby with LSU holding a two-point lead. Payne hit a clutch three throughout an 11-2 LSU run as the Tigers built their lead up.
Clemson’s Eno Inyang was called for an intentional foul later in the third and Morris sunk both free-throws and then with LSU holding the possession, Payne hit another three from the right wing to give LSU a 46-34 advantage, its largest lead of the game at the 2:35 mark in the third. Clemson hit a layup with time winding down in the quarter as LSU led by nine, 50-41, heading into the final quarter.
Clemson cut the lead to six, hitting a three on its first fourth quarter possession, but LSU’s Awa Trasi responded with a lay-in. Aifuwa, back in the game in foul trouble, grabbed a critical offensive rebound to give her a double-double and ultimately got the ball back on a dish from Pointer to give LSU a 55-46 lead with 7:29 remaining. After a Clemson free-throw, Morris hit a pull-up jumper getting fouled in the process. She finished the and-one at the free throw line to put the Tigers up 11.
 Aifuwa fouled out with 5:16 remaining in the game and LSU with a 58-47 lead.  With 3:32 remaining, Pointer grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed Payne three and she got fouled on the put-back, converting the and-one to give LSU a 12-point lead with 3:30 left. On LSU’s next offensive possession Autumn Newby turned a layup into a three-point play as LSU pulled away with the clock running down. LSU prevented Clemson from going on any runs and closed out the game, 70-56.

Da Boot Sports
12/19/2021
LSU Sports Information
By: LSU Staff


   BATON ROUGE – The No. 22 LSU Women’s Basketball team won its eighth consecutive game Saturday in the PMAC, cruising to a 77-51 win over the Bradley Braves.LSU improved to 9-1, winning its eighth game in a row and matching last year’s win total.
   “That’s a milestone,” said Head Coach Kim Mulkey. “I also will tell them next game that they have an opportunity to win more games than they did last year.”
   Faustine Aifuwa recorded her first double-double of the season as she posted 14 points, 10 rebounds, and one assist. Alexis Morris and Jailin Cherry had 17 and 12 points for the Tigers, respectfully, as Morris led the Tigers in scoring. Ryann Payne had 10 points as four finished in double figures. Autumn Newby scored four points and grabbed ten rebounds. Sarah Shemasti finished the game with a career-high eight boards. 
   Caroline Waite led Bradley with 14 points. Gabi Haack, who entered the game averaging 17.7 pointer per game, was held to nine points, four rebounds and two assists. Callie Ziebell grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for the Braves.
   Forcing 27 turnovers, LSU scored 34 points off of turnovers and 27 points on the fast break. LSU was dominant getting the ball inside, finishing with 44 points in the paint.
   “(Our guards) can push the ball up the floor as good as anybody,” said Head Coach Kim Mulkey. “They can defend on-ball as good as anybody. You just tell them, get the rebound and let’s go.”
   The Tigers will leave immediately following the game for the West Palm Beach Invitational where they will take on Clemson on Monday and Texas Tech on Tuesday. Both games can be streamed on FloHoops.
   The Tigers forced turnovers on three of Bradley’s first five offensive possessions and started out 4-of-5 shooting the ball, hopping out to an early 9-0 lead as the Braves were forced to take a timeout less than two minutes into the game. Morris intercepted a pass to the block out of the timeout and found Pointer on the fastbreak for a layup. Bradley scored its first bucket, a three-pointer, at the 6:20 mark in the first quarter after LSU scored the first 13 points of the game. 
   The Tigers used a late burst in the quarter to go on an 8-0 run and finish the quarter with a 28-10 lead, putting up a season-high in first quarter points. The Tigers forced 12 turnovers that led to 21 points in the opening quarter.
   LSU opened the second quarter scoring the first 12 points over the first four minutes, continuing to extend the lead. Payne and Trasi were the lone scorers during the run, both putting up six points. After a scoring drought for the Tigers, Newby scored her first points with a minute remaining in the half after grabbing nine rebounds. LSU led 47-16 at the half. 
   Newby opened the third quarter up with a fifteen-foot jumper from the baseline. Aifuwa was able to score the ball and was aggressive on the boards. After scoring 10 points in the first half, she reached 10 rebounds, grabbing an offensive board and laying it back up to get her double-double. Morris scored a bucket in the third quarter to push her into double-digits for the ninth straight game. 
After a string of turnovers and no points early in the fourth quarter from LSU’s bench players, Coach Mulkey subbed her starters back in the game with LSU holding a 69-36 lead. Morris immediately hit back-to-back jumpers from the right elbow. The Tigers closed out the game, 77-51. 

Da Boot Sports
12/16/2021
LSU Sports Information
By: LSU Staff


​   BATON ROUGE – The No. 22 LSU Women’s Basketball team (8-1) used a complete team performance highlighted by stout defense and a flurry of buckets to take down the Alcorn State Lady Braves (1-8), 100-36, Wednesday in the PMAC. 
LSU scored 100 points for the first time since 2010 in a triple-overtime loss to Ole Miss. The last time the Tigers put up 100 in regulation was in 2006 against Eastern Washington.
   The Tigers will be back in the PMAC on Saturday at noon CT to host Bradley. After the New Orleans game was cancelled because of health and safety protocols within the UNO program, LSU and Bradley agreed to match up on Saturday. Tickets for the UNO game will be valid on Saturday when LSU plays Bradley.
   Khayla Pointer continued her dominant start to the year as she finished the contest with 19 points and 10 rebounds, her third double-double this season and seventh of her career. It was the sixth straight game she reached double-digit points. She also led LSU with 4 assists.
   Other standouts for the Tigers included the likes of Alexis Morris, Ajae Petty, Grace Hall and Sarah Shemasti. Morris finished the game with 14 points off of 7-11 shooting. She has scored double-digits in all eight games she has played in. Freshmen Timia Ware and Grace Hall reached double-digits for the first time of their careers with 11 and 10, respectively, leading an LSU bench that put up 54 combined points.
   The Tigers didn’t just score the ball, but they did so efficiently. LSU shot 61.3-percent from the field, going over 60-percent for the second game in a row.
  LSU held Alcorn to just 26-percent shooting, tying an LSU opponent season low, throughout the night while also swiping a season-high 17 steals and forcing 26 turnovers as a team, also tying a season-high. LSU finished with 36 points off turnovers.
  “When you shoot that high of a percentage, you’re going to win basketball games,” Coach Kim Mulkey said. “Defensively we held Alcorn to 26-percent shooting from the field and we also had seventeen steals. Activity. Just be Active. Win the games you’re supposed to win and win them decisively. I think we have done that the last couple of games.”
   For the second consecutive game every player that saw action for LSU scored the ball.
  Freshman guard Maya Claytor was the Lady Braves’ leading scorer with 13 points. Senior forward Tyginae Wright made two three-pointers and finished with 6 points. 
  After Alcorn State scored the first bucket of the game, LSU got rolling. The Tigers went on a 10-0 to build its lead early. Morris had six points during the run, starting the game 3-4 in the first five minutes. Cherry made her first shot attempt, returning after exiting the Iowa State game in the second quarter with an injury. The Tigers had 7 steals in the first quarter and that, along with pushing the ball when rebounding, they had 15 fastbreak points in the opening quarter. The Tigers held a 26-9 lead after one, setting a new season-high for points in a first quarter.
   LSU started the second quarter on a 9-0 run, forcing the Lady Braves to take a timeout. Coming off the bench; Timia Ware, Ajae Petty and Shematsi accounted for all nine of the points prior to Alcorn State’s timeout. Grace Hall subbed in soon after the timeout and on her first possession in the game, the freshman recorded her first career steal and sank a pair of free-throws after drawing a foul on the fast break. Back in the game, Pointer reached double-digits for the sixth straight game on a lay-in midway through the second quarter. A few possessions later Morris hit a 10-foot pull-up jumper to reach double-digits for the seventh straight game. LSU held a 49-17 lead at the break, marking the second consecutive game the Tigers put up 49 in the opening half.
   Alcorn State scored the first points of the half, but LSU mounted an 11-0 run early on in the third quarter to build its lead to 60-19. Amani Bartlett earned her first points of the night after grabbing an offensive rebound and going straight back up. The Tigers led 72-30 going into the fourth.
   For the second consecutive game, LSU was able to go deep into its bench, holding a commanding lead. Emily Ward hit the first shot of the fourth quarter, giving her points in back-to-back games for the first time of her three-year career. Hall knocked down her third and fourth three-pointers of the year in as many tries. Shematsi also stayed perfect from beyond the arc on the season, going 2-2 from three Wednesday evening. On a free-throw with under a minute remaining in the game, Ware gave LSU its 100th point.

Da Boot Sports
12/12/2021
By: Terrill J. Weil


   BATON ROUGE, LA: The 24th ranked Lady Tigers returned to play after a ten day break as they would easily defeat
Texas Southern in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Sunday afternoon, 96-55. With the win, LSU is now 7-1 on the season.
   It was a great all around team win as 13 different Lady Tigers scored in the ball game. Faustine Aifuwa led the team with 14 points, while Khayla Pointer finished with 13 on the day. Alexis Morris continued her outstanding play adding 11 points and Ryann Payne finished with 8 points. 
   
   LSU controlled the opening tip and scored quickly on a basket by Alexis Morris giving the Tigers an early 2-0. Texas Southern however answered with back to back three point jumpers to take the lead, 6-5 at the 7:24 mark. 
   Over the next three minutes the Lady Tigers would go on a 10-2 run to take a seven point lead, 15-8. But thanks to five easy missed layups by LSU, TSU would be able to battle back going on a 8-0 run to regain the lead, 16-15 with 1:47 left in the first period. 
   LSU answered, scoring the final three points of the quarter to led, 18-16 after the first 10 minutes of pay.

   After an inspiring first period of play by TSU, the 24th ranked Lady Tigers would begin to find their groove, raising their level of play on both ends of the court. 
   LSU exploded to begin the second period going on a 11-0 run to take a 29-16 with 6:05 left in the first half. Four minutes later the #24 ranked Lady Tigers would extend their lead to twenty, 41-21 at the 2:14 mark.
   The Lady Tigers continued to play at a fast and furious pace, outscoring Texas Southern 8-3 over the final two minutes of the period to take a 49-24 lead into the locker room at the half. 
   The 49 points would be the most LSU has scored in a first half so far this season. Khayla Pointer would lead the team with 8 points at the half, while Alexis Morris added 7 points, and Awa Trasi contributed 5 points. As a team the Tigers were hot as a pistol, going 18-31 from the floor for 58%, and shooting 3-6 from behind the three point arc for 50%. LSU tenacious defensive pressure forced TSU into 12 first half turnovers, while outrebounding Texas Southern, 25-12.


   The Lady Tigers started the second half where they left off in the first half, dominating TSU while going on a 13-0 run over the first four minutes of the period, taking a 62-27 led. 
  With three minutes left in the third period and up by 36 points, Kim Mulkey would pull her starters to giving bench players some much needed minutes.
   LSU would end up outscoring the Lady Tigers of TSU 28-12 in the third period, leading 77-36 as the game headed into the 4th and final period. 

   The LSU bench players showed TSU no mercy in the fourth period as they would pick up where the starters left off, playing the final ten minutes at a fast pace with intensity to help LSU cruise to a 96-55 victory. 
  Timia Ware was brilliant off the bench as she did a great job of running the point in the final period, scoring 9 points. Grace Hall and Amani Bartlett both finished the contest with 8 points each, while Ajae Petty added 5 points. 

   Next, the Lady Tigers will host Alcorn State in the PMAC on Wednesday, Dec. 15th at 6:00pm....
    

Da Boot Sports
12/2/2021
By: Terrill J. Weil


   BATON ROUGE, LA: The LSU Lady Tigers faced their first ranked opponent of the Kim Mulkey era on Thursday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and came away with an impressive 69-60 upset win over the 14th ranked Iowa State Lady Cyclones. It was Iowa State's first loss of the season as they fell to 7-1.
   The Tigers were lead by Alexis Morris who had a career game finishing with 25 points as she was red hot from three point land going 5-7 from behind the arc. Khayla Pointer continued her outstanding play as she finished with 20 points on the night. Ryann Payne came off the bench for an injured Jailin Cherry to score 9 points and play great defense. 
   LSU's defense was able to hold the dangerous three point shooting Cyclones to only 9-23 from behind the arc and forced 16 turnovers, while dominating play down low in the paint. It was a great win for the program.... 
   

   The Lady Tigers controlled the opening tip and scored quickly as Alexis Morris drained a jumper 8 seconds into the ball game giving LSU a 2-0 lead. 
   On the next four possession each team would hit from behind the three point arc, as LSU led 8-6 at the 8:03 mark. Things were beginning to shape into a grueling, fast pace contest. 
   Over the next four minutes, LSU continued to have the hot hand on offense, going on a 12-7 run to build a 20-13 lead
with 3:43 left in the first quarter. 
   The fast pace continued over the final minutes of the period, as Iowa State continued to shoot the ball well from behind the arc to pull within four, as LSU would hold a 24-20 lead after the first ten minutes. 

   The Lady Cyclones stayed hot from three point range to start the second period, keeping pace with LSU's offensive production, as Ashley Joens hit a jumper from behind the arc to pull Iowa State to within one, 27-26 with 6:11 left on the clock. 
   Sixty seconds later, the Cyclones would take their first lead of the contest, 28-27 at the 5:06 mark, but LSU answered quickly to regain the lead, 29-28 as Faustine Aifuwa sank two shots from the free throw line. 
   With 3:04 left and LSU up 34-32, the Lady Tigers turned up their intensity, holding Iowa State scoreless for the rest of the period with great man to man defense, while scoring the final four points of the half to take a 38-32 lead at the break. 
   The Lady Tigers played an inspiring first half shooting 50% from the floor, while hitting 4-4 from behind the three point arc. Alexis Morris led the team with 15 points in the first half, while Khayla Pointer added 10. 


   Iowa State began the third period going on a 8-4 run over the first six minutes cutting LSU's lead to 42-40 with 5:45 left on the clock. 
   The Lady Tigers would begin to once again turn up their intensity, pulling away from the Lady Cyclones, taking a 12
point advantage, 56-44 with 1:42 left in the third period. 
   However, Iowa State refused to quit, scoring four straight to end the period as LSU led 56-48 going into the final ten minutes of play.

   The Lady Cyclones started the fourth period scoring four straight to pull to within 56-53, but LSU would answer with a 6-0 run to increase their lead to nine, 62-53 with 6:32 left in the contest.
   For the final six minutes, Iowa State simply couldn't match LSU's intensity as the Lady Tigers seemed to wear down the
Cyclones with their physical play on defense and on the boards. 
   Both teams played even the rest of the way as LSU would pull off an early season upset over a ranked opponent, 69-60.

   Next the Lady Tigers will take a ten day break to study for and take exams before returning to play on Sunday, Dec. 12th against Texas Southern in the Assembly Center. Tipoff is set for 1:00pm....

Photos Below By: Jonathan Mailhes