L SU has advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row due to a dominant second-half performance.
Tennessee seemed like a typical blowout between a three-seed and an eleven-seed but it was more of a tale of two halves than anything.
After Middle Tennessee had a 36-32 lead at the half and it looked like an upset was brewing in the Pete Maravich Center, LSU outscored the Blue Raiders 51-20 in the second half to catapult the Tigers to the Sweet Sixteen. This is the first time that LSU was able to advance to the Sweet 16 in consecutive seasons since 2013-14.
A large reason why LSU was able to win this game was because it was able to get Middle Tennessee in foul trouble early. Because so many Blue Raiders were in foul trouble, it caused one of the nation’s best defenses to play conservatively.
“That was our advantage, knowing that they were in foul trouble going into the second half,” Reese said.
LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson led the Tigers with 21 points, four rebounds and two assists. Johnson shot the ball well from the field, making six of her 10 shot attempts.
Mikaylah Williams was a threat on the perimeter, finishing with 16 points, shooting 6-for-11 from the field and 2-for-5 from three. She added six rebounds, too.
Despite having a slow start, All-American forward and SEC Player of the Year Angel Reese had a strong second half to finish with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds.
LSU forward Aneesah Morrow also had a double-double, scoring 19 points and collecting 13 boards.
This game showed that LSU can win games despite having to go away from its up-tempo, high-intensity offensive style because of its great defense.
“Doing whatever it takes to win,” Reese said. “I think we did a good job playing team basketball and team defense.”
Along with its solid defense, LSU did a great job of limiting its turnovers, as it ended with just seven as a team, which is a far cry from the 24 turnovers it committed against Rice in the first round of the tournament on Friday.
LSU will now advance onto the Sweet 16 to face the winner of either No. 2 seed UCLA or No. 7 Creighton at the MVP Arena in Albany, New York. The Bruins and the Blue Jays will face off against one another on Monday at 7:30 p.m. C.T. on ESPN2.
LSU will tip off in the Sweet 16 on March 30 at a time to be determined.
“It’s a blessing to win every game at this point, it’s a blessing to get to pl