After having a bye through the first two rounds of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament, the LSU Tigers rested to prepare for their matchup against the Florida Gators. Without Flau’Jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow and company stepped up as the Bayou Bengals moved on to the semifinals with a 101-87 win over the Gators.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
LSU jumped out to an early lead, and Aneesah Morrow led the charge for the Tigers offensively. Morrow scored eight of her team’s first 10 points, scoring twice in the paint with and a pair of deep two-point jump shots. One of those jumpers was on a broken where she dropped back and took a contested fadeaway.
The efficient scoring by Morrow put the Tigers up 10-5 through the first four minutes. In that time, Florida couldn’t consistently get a shot off, turning the ball over three times (twice on their first two possessions) and attempted just four shots. The Gators didn’t make their first shot until the 6:45 mark of the opening quarter.
Florida star guard Liv McGill cut it to a three-point game with an and-one layup with two and a half minutes remaining, but LSU responded with a 9-2 run to end the first. Morrow hit her third jump shot, and Mjracle Sheppard knocked down a three as the Tigers were ahead 26-16 going into the second period.
LSU was held scoreless through the first two and a half minutes of the second quarter before Kailyn Gilbert ended the drought with a shot from downtown. Then, Mikaylah Williams hit her first shot on the following possession with a midrange fadeaway. Williams struggled to find her shot yet didn’t let that stop her from having a positive impact on the floor. By the end of the first half, Williams was responsible for half of LSU’s assists through the first 20 minutes of play with seven dimes.
The Tigers concluded the second quarter with an 8-2 run that began with a layup by Jersey Wolfenbarger and ended with a shot in the paint from Morrow with three seconds before the buzzer. Florida couldn’t get a shot off and LSU went into the half ahead 53-34.
Another slow start to a quarter for the Tigers allowed the Gators to shrink their deficit. Florida began the third quarter with an 11-2 run. Five Gators scored during run with Jeriah Warren hitting a three-pointer to cut it to a 10-point difference.
Morrow and Williams ended Florida’s run and scored 18 out of LSU first 20 points in the third. Both players did most of their damage in the paint and from the free throw line. Aalyah Del Rosario and Gilbert hit and-one layup late in the quarter to help keep a sizable lead heading into the final period.
Sheppard caught fire early on in the fourth by knocked down back-to-back shots, including a three that Sa’Myah Smith assisted on. Morrow didn’t slow down either as she scored three consecutive buckets for LSU before Kim Mulkey subbed her out for the final time in the game with less than three minutes to go.
The Tigers cruised the rest of the way as they moved on to the semifinals of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament with a 101-87 win over the Florida Gators.
BIG NUMBERS: 36 & 101
Aneesah Morrow rewrote the LSU record books on Friday as her 36 points was a Tiger conference tourament record. Her double-double performace in the quarterfinals was also the 28th time she’s hit that statline and the 101st of her collegiate career. The 101 points scored by Kim Mulkey’s squad was also a program record in the tournament. The previous mark was 99.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Aneesah Morrow
Morrow was unstoppable and a sparkplug for LSU’s offense all night long as she finished the night with 36 points on 15-21 shooting. The senior out of Chicago also recorded 14 rebounds (six offensive) and two steals as LSU moved on to the semifinals of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament with the 101-87 win over the Florida Gators.
UP NEXT: The LSU Tigers women’s basketball team will return for the next tournament round tomorrow when they face the Texas Longhorns. Tipoff from Bon Secours Wellness Arena is set for 7:00 pm, and the action can be heard on Mustang 107.1.