LSU advances to the next round where they will face Louisville for a chance to go to the Sweet Sixteen.
Although it may taken a fiery speech from head coach Kim Mulkey at halftime, LSU will advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after it defeated Rice 70-60 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.
Despite being 20.5-point favorites, LSU was horrendous on the offensive side of the ball throughout the whole game. However, it doesn’t matter how ugly a game may be, it’s about surviving and playing another day.
“We got a W, but this is not how we wanted to start March Madness off,” LSU guard Mikaylah Williams said. “We can’t do anything but go back to the drawing board and pick it up for the next round.”
LSU struggled the most in the first half as there was no chemistry on the court whatsoever. LSU was missing high-percentage shots and had 13 turnovers in the first half alone. Even worse, the Tigers only had six assists.
Despite having a 12-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Tigers shot 4-for-15 from the floor and had eight turnovers. Because of the lackluster performance of LSU’s offense, Rice started to believe that luck was on their side.
Despite going into halftime down 40-38 to LSU, Rice outscored the Tigers 21-18 in the second quarter. This was in part due to its suffocating defense and its efficient scoring. The Owls forced five turnovers and shot 8-for-15 from the field as well as 5-for-9 beyond the perimeter.
However, LSU forward Aneesah Morrow was a huge reason why LSU was able to keep its lead going into halftime. Morrow scored 10 of her 15 points in the first half. She also recorded seven rebounds and led both teams with four steals.
“Aneesah, her motor never stops,” Mulkey said. “She has the same pace the entire game, and that pace is just really good. She’s just been an outstanding player for us, undersized post player. Probably don’t use her enough on shooting the three ball because of our offense, but she battles in there for rebounds. She’s — I’m just grateful I get to coach her and she’s on our team.”
Fortunately for LSU, Reese started to become a lot more aggressive in the paint. Despite scoring one bucket in the second half let alone the entire game, she forced the issue as she drove in the paint to draw fouls left and right, ultimately leading Rice to get into foul trouble.
Reese ended up recording a double-double as she scored 10 points and picked up 20 rebounds. She also recorded three steals and one block on the defensive side of the ball.
LSU guards Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams also stepped it up in the second half. Johnson scored nine points and Williams scored 10 in the second half.
Johnson finished with 14 points, four assists and three rebounds with a block and a steal.
Williams also finished with 14 points with four assists and four rebounds.
The Tigers will be the hosts for the second round when they take on the 11th-seed Middle Tennessee on Sunday.