Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
The LSU women’s basketball team suffocated Southeastern Louisiana with its defense, winning 115-26 in one of the most lopsided games it’s ever played. Only three teams have ever scored fewer points against the Tigers than the Lions did on Thursday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, and only one has ever lost to LSU by as wide of a margin (89). Southeastern converted only 10 of its 52 field-goal attempts and turned the ball over 29 times. The contest got out of hand quickly. The No. 5 Tigers (2-0) led the Lions 30-4 at the end of the first quarter, 61-6 at the end of the second and 91-13 at the end of the third. Southeastern also made only three 3-pointers and attempted just nine free throws. LSU, on the other hand, shot 68% from the field and 8 of 18 from beyond the arc. The Tigers have converted their field goals at a higher rate twice in their history and once in the NCAA era (since 1981-1982). Star senior Flau’jae Johnson converted only three of the 10 field goals she attempted on Tuesday in the Tigers’ season opener, but on Thursday, she finished with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, five rebounds and five assists. Four other LSU contributors scored in double figures. Freshman forward ZaKiyah Johnson added 16 points and five rebounds, while transfer center Kate Koval notched 16 points and nine rebounds. Grace Knox, another freshman forward, followed up her 10-point, four-rebound outing on Tuesday with an 11-point, three-rebound showing on Thursday. Freshman guard Bella Hines also chipped in 14 points after hitting four of her six 3-pointers. For the second game in a row, coach Kim Mulkey started ZaKiyah Johnson and sophomore point guard Jada Richard next to Flau’jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams and Koval. MiLaysia Fulwiley, the star transfer guard from South Carolina, entered the contest off the bench and tallied six points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. On Tuesday, she recorded a career-high seven steals. Before Thursday, the fewest points that LSU had allowed in a game it’s played during Mulkey’s tenure was 34. Two teams (Western Carolina and Texas A&M) scored that many when they faced the Tigers during the season in which they won the national championship. LSU has now beaten its first two opponents — Houston Christian and Southeastern — by a combined 142 points. Both teams play in the Southland Conference. The Tigers next will travel to Statesboro, Georgia, to face Georgia Southern in a game it scheduled as a homecoming for Flau’jae Johnson. They’ll then play three more nonconference games before they travel down to the U.S. Virgin Islands to play in the Paradise Jam tournament the week of Thanksgiving.
