The LSU women’s basketball team dominated in the first two rounds of the Women’s NCAA Tournament, defeating San Diego State and Florida State by 30 or more points. In the Sweet 16, the Bayou Bengals traveled to Spokane, Washington, to take on the NC State Wolfpack. The Tigers went down to the wire but locked in late to advance to the Elite 8 with the 80-73 win.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
NC State scored the first points as Madison Hayes hit a three after Saniya Rivers stole the ball from Aneesah Morrow on the opening possession. LSU responded by going on a 13-2 run. Sa’Myah Smith knocked down her first three shot attempts, two of which were from midrange, and the other was a put back layup. Mikaylah Williams then scored the next four points for the Tigers before Morrow made her first of two free throws and went back up on her miss to give her team the early eight-point lead.
Hayes interrupted LSU’s scoring spree with another three-pointer before Smith scored again in the paint, and Williams found Morrow for the open three. Morrow scored again from behind the arc less than a minute later to push the Bayou Bengals’ lead up to 11 with less than four minutes to go in the opening quarter.
The Wolfpack was responsible for five of the final seven first quarter points as Aziha James knocked down a three-ball and made both free throw attempts. After 10 minutes of play, LSU was ahead 23-15.
NC State opened the second quarter with a 10-2 run to tie the game at 25. Tilda Trygger assisted on Rivers’ layup, and Zamareya Jones hit back-to-back threes before Morrow countered with a pair of layups to reclaim the two-point advantage.
In the middle part of the period, the Wolfpack went on a 9-2 run to take their first lead since the opening minute. During the run, Jones scored again from downtown and in the paint while Trygger and Brooks scored to help put NC State ahead by three with four minutes left before the break.
Smith fouled Hayes with less than a second left on the clock. The senior guard knocked down both shots from the charity stripe as LSU went into the half down 40-36.
Brooks opened the second half with a midrange jumper, but LSU hit three consecutive shots to tie the game less than two minutes in. Kim Mulkey’s squad followed that up by scoring nine of the next 10 points as Morrow scored twice, including an and-one jumper. Smith also converted on a three-point play on the following possession, putting the Tigers ahead by six with 4:24 to go in the third.
Before the final quarter began, Rivers hit a three and a pair from the charity stripe for NC State. Morrow, on the other hand, made one more layup, and Williams had knocked down a free throw as the Tigers were ahead by four with 10 minutes remaining.
The Wolfpack attacked the paint numerous times to open the fourth and took the lead on a Maddie Cox layup. Brooks extended her team’s lead with a couple of made jumpers, and some free throws from Jones put NC State ahead 65-60 with 6:22 to go.
Morrow was the main focal point of the Tiger offense down the stretch as she scored the team’s six points in two and a half minutes. Williams followed that up by scoring eight of LSU’s next 10 points as she got to the rim twice and made a couple more from midrange. That scoring output gave the Bayou Bengals the one-point advantage with 67 seconds left.
LSU players kept getting fouled in the closing seconds and made all of their free throws to extend their lead. NC State missed their last five shots as a team, and that helped secure the 80-73 victory for the Tigers, advancing them to the Elite 8.
BIG NUMBER: 3
For the third time in three years, the LSU Tigers have moved on and advanced to the Elite 8 of the Women’s NCAA Tournament. The first year, they won the national championship and then lost to the number one seeded Iowa Hawkeyes. LSU has been a three seed in all three years.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Aneesah Morrow
The double-double machine herself came up big once again as she finished the game with another double-double, scoring 30 points on 12-25 shooting. Morrow also secured 19 rebounds (nine offensive), three steals, and two blocks, and LSU moved on to the Elite 8 with the 80-73 win over NC State.
UP NEXT: The LSU Tigers women’s basketball team will wait take on either the UCLA Bruins or Ole Miss Rebels. The Elite 8 Spokane Regional matchup will play out on Sunday, March 30th, at 2:00 pm. The action can be heard on Mustang 107.1.