The 2025-26 season for LSU women’s basketball began on Tuesday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center as the Tigers hosted Houston Christian. The Bayou Bengals jumped out to an early lead and dominated throughout Tuesday’s game, starting the season 1-0 with a 108-55 win over the Huskies.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
It didn’t take very long for LSU to jump out to an early lead. The Tigers went ahead 10-2 after a little more than three minutes of game time had passed. ZaKiyah Johnson put back Kate Koval’s miss for the team’s first points of the season. That basket came off a bad pass and turnover by Houston Christian’s Tove Ceasar. Mikaylah Willimas had a highlight steal and transition layup during the run.
Kamryn McLaurin cut into the Tigers’ lead by knocking down a three-pointer and driving into the paint for a layup on back-to-back possessions.
The Tigers outscored the Huskies 16-6 in the final five and a half minutes of the open quarter. It started with a pair of threes by Williams and MiLaysiah Fuwiley, who subbed into the game a minute before. Fuwiley’s shot from downtown came off a step back on the right wing. Flau’Jae Johnson scored twice in the final minute and a half, including a midrange jumper where she head-faked the defender and side-stepped into the shot. LSU was ahead 26-13 through the first 10 minutes.
Head coach Kim Mulkey’s group steadily kept its distance from the Huskies through the first handful of minutes of the second quarter. Williams and Fulwiley continued to look sharp as they fueled a 12-2 run in three minutes, putting LSU ahead 38-17. Dasia Hyams ended the run with a three off a Jordan Jackson assist. Williams made her second three-pointer of the first half during the run.
Houston Christian found more success shooting from downtown in the back half of the second quarter. The Huskies made three shots from behind the arc, with Hyams, Grace Booth, and Jackson each making one. That final three by Jackson was at the 2:53 mark of the second quarter and made it a 16-point difference.
The rest of the period was all LSU as they finished with a 10-0 run before the half ended. Fuwiley had a great sequence of events as she got the steal against Sidney Carr and found Williams for a layup in transition. Then did it again on the next possession and took it coast-to-coast herself for the open shot in the paint. Flau’Jae knocked down a pair of free throws with a handful of seconds left as the Tigers went into the break up 53-27 over the Huskies.
Not much changed in the second half as LSU continued to dominate on its home floor. Fuwiley opened the third quarter on fire, scoring twice in the paint and drawing and-one fouls on those shots. Kate Koval followed that up with a layup of her own to put the Tigers ahead by 31, less than 90 seconds in.
LSU, through the midway point of the third, went on a 20-5 run. Five different Tigers scored during the run, and that included Jada Richard, Bella Hines, Williams, Amiya Joyner, and Grace Knox, who got it started with a midrange jumper off a Williams assist. The only sources of offense for Houston Christian were a Jackson three-pointer and a Booth layup. Also, the Tigers’ defense forced four turnovers during the enormous run.
Kaylin Gilbert sank the team’s fifth three-pointer of the night, and Hines made a buzzer-beating layup to push LSU’s lead to 42 with 10 minutes to play in the game.
In the fourth quarter, Zakiyah Johnson officially recorded her first career double-double with a tip-in. She’d finished the game with 11 points and 11 rebounds, nine of which were offensive boards, leading to second-chance points.
LSU’s lead grew further in the later stages of the game. Meghan Yarnevich, Divine Bourrage, and others also managed to score in the closing stages with the win well in hand.
At the final buzzer, the Tigers were victorious, opening the season with a 108-55 win over the Huskies.
BIG NUMBER: 53
Tuesday night’s game against the Huskies was nothing short of a mauling by the Tigers, as they led by as many as 53 points in the game. LSU also dominated in multiple statistical categories, including having a 33-16 advantage in turnovers and outrebounding HCU 45-26.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Milaysiah Fuwiley
In her first game as a Tiger, MiLaysiah Fuwiley led the team in multiple categories. The junior transfer came off the bench and finished the night with 21 points on 8/14 shooting, stole the ball seven times, blocked two shots, and grabbed four rebounds as LSU opened the season with a 70-34 win over Houston Christian.
UP NEXT: The LSU Tigers women’s basketball team will stay home for a matchup with the UNO Privateers. Tipoff from the PMAC is scheduled for Monday, November 10th, at 7:00 PM. The action can be heard on Mustang 107.1.