The LSU Tigers built up a 12-point lead on the road but were unable to hold on as they fell 65-58 to No. 3 Texas on Sunday. The defeat is the second in Southeastern Conference play and likely knocks LSU out of contention for the SEC regular season championship.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The two teams went scoreless for the first two-plus minutes but that ended when Mikayla Williams hit a three-pointer off a fast break. After grabbing a defensive rebound, Aneesah Morrow came down the court to hit a jumper which gave LSU a 5-0 lead.
Texas couldn’t get anything going offensively as the Longhorns started off going 0-for-8 from the field and turning it over three times. Texas didn’t make its first field goal until Taylor Jones hit a layup with 5:09 left in the first.
It was a defensive game for the remainder of the first quarter as neither team scored in the final 2:29 and the teams were tied 10-10 heading to the second quarter.
LSU came out with layups by Williams and Morrow and Texas continued to struggle from the field. The Longhorns went over 10 minutes in the first half without scoring a field goal. Jordan Lee’s fast-break layup with 2:29 left in the second snapped that drought.
At the break, Kim Mulkey’s squad led 28-19.
Texas came out hot to start the second half as Madison Booker hit a jumper for her first field goal as she started 0-for-11. That ignited an 8-0 run that cut LSU’s lead down to one point. After the teams traded free throws, LSU reclaimed the momentum as Flau’jae Johnson hit a three-pointer to start a 9-0 run.
The Tigers pushed their lead up to 12 points before the Longhorns started chipping away in the final four minutes of the third. At the end of the third, LSU held a 44-44 lead.
Texas started the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to take their first lead since leading 8-7 in the first quarter. LSU’s Williams stepped up with a jumper which was answered by a jumper by Booker. Williams then got a bucket and the and-one to cut the lead down to one.
That would be the closest the Tigers came to pulling out the victory as Texas outscored LSU 10-4 in the final three minutes. The Tigers ended the game making only one of its final 10 shots.
BIG NUMBER I: 27
Texas entered Sunday afternoon’s game with a 47.9 field goal percentage, but the Longhorns couldn’t get their shot to drop in the first half. Texas shot only 19 percent in the first half. They shot much better in the second half, going more with an inside-outside game, but still ended the game shooting 15-of-56 from the field for a mere 27 percent.
BIG NUMBER II: 19
LSU had an issue with turnovers in Sunday’s defeat at Texas as the Tigers committed 19 turnovers in the loss. The Longhorns also took advantage of those miscues as they scored 13 points off of them.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: ANEESAH MORROW & MIKAYLA WILLIAMS
Morrow put on a show on the road as she had 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting while also pulling down a game-high 20 rebounds. Williams came up big with 18 points on 7-of-19 shooting.
UP NEXT: LSU (25-2, 10-2 SEC) will return home to take on Georgia on Thursday. Tip from the PMAC is set for 8 p.m. and can be heard live on Mustang 107.1 FM.