A successful 27-5 record put the LSU women’s basketball team as a two-seed in the NCAA bracket, the highest seeding in program history. Their first-round opponent was the 15-seeded Jacksonville Dolphins.
The Tigers had no problem moving on to the Round of 32 after a dominant 116-58 win over the Dolphins on Friday. The next game in Baton Rouge will be the 7-10 matchup between Texas Tech and Villanova.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
LSU wasted no time jumping out to a 20-4 lead less than four minutes into the game. Jacksonville’s offense didn’t attempt its first shot until the Tigers were already ahead by 10. The Dolphins turned the ball over three times against LSU as they scored eight points off those giveaways, including a transition three-pointer by Mikaylah Williams.
The Dolphins didn’t score their first points until the 7:14 mark of the opening quarter, when Bailey Burns intercepted Kate Koval’s pass, and Carmaya Bowman went coast to coast for a layup. After that, LSU went on a 13-5 run. Bella Hines subbed in and had an impact on both ends of the floor, recording multiple rebounds, getting a steal, and knocking down a transition three. Williams also scored from downtown to end the run and gave the Bayou Bengals a 22-point advantage.
Tatum Brown got into the paint for Jacksonville with 41 seconds left. At the end of the first, LSU was ahead 34-14. The 34 points became the most points scored in a quarter in the program’s history.
The second quarter was more back-and-forth as each team traded baskets more frequently. Jada Richard and MiLaysia Fuwiley scored the Tigers’ first nine points of the period, while Mariah Knight and Comari Mitchell were the ones to score early for the Dolphins.
LSU took as much as a 31-point lead with 3:53 remaining in the first half. Flau’Jae Johnson also had a great first half. If she wasn’t scoring, she was drawing multiple defenders and leaving teammates such as Koval open for layups. Zakiyah Johnson and company made a few more shots as the Tigers were ahead 64-36 heading into the locker room.
Grace Knox was the one who got LSU’s scoring going in the second half, making a couple of free throws and a layup. Jada Richard followed that up with an and-one bucket as Williams assisted on both plays.
By the midway point of the third, the Tigers improved their lead to 38 points. Koval stole the ball on back-to-back possessions, and Johnson and Fuwiley took advantage of the extra opportunities by cutting into the paint for easy baskets. Williams assisted on a couple of possessions beforehand, with Johnson hitting a three-pointer and Richard having an additional layup.
In the final 4:36 of the third, the Tigers went on a 12-2 run. Fuwiley had six points, including a quartet of free throws, Zakiyah Johnson got into the paint for another layup, and Richard ended the quarter the only way she knows how, by hitting a midrange buzzer beater to put LSU ahead by 46 with 10 minutes to play. The lone bucket by the Dolphins was a jumpshot by Aniah Smith.
The fourth quarter was a turnover-fest for Jacksonville. Fuwiley had multiple steals and fast-break layups to build on LSU’s lead. Scoring in the paint was also a common theme for the Tigers, as they scored 66 points inside five feet.
When it was all said and done, the Tigers covered the spread and took down the Jacksonville Dolphins 116-58. The 58-point margin of victory was also good enough to cover the betting spread that was set ahead of the matchup.
BIG NUMBER: 4
There were many program records broken by LSU in Friday night’s win. The Tigers scored the most points in a quarter (34), points in a half (64), most points in an NCAA Tournament game (116), and most points scored in the paint (66).
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Mikaylah Williams
Mikaylah Williams was an overall playmaker in LSU’s round one 109-58 win over Jacksonville. The junior put up 18 points on 6/9 shooting, had a career-high 10 assists, five rebounds, three steals, and a block.
UP NEXT: The LSU Women’s Basketball team will return to the hardwood on Sunday, March 22nd, to face the winner of No.7 Texas Tech and No.10 Villanova. Tipoff from the PMAC is TBD, and the action can be heard on Mustang 107.1.