LSU Pulls Away From Mississippi State Late, Wins 71-59

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.
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