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LSU guard Kailyn Gilbert (16) celebrates after the basket against Auburn in the second quarter on Sunday, January 5, 2025 at the PMAC in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Before the clock expired, Kailyn Gilbert calmly, carefully and quickly positioned herself to punctuate the LSU women’s basketball team’s dominant second quarter. A crossover dribble gave her a driving lane.
A step-back gave her space to shoot. Then a fadeaway gave her a window to fire through, which the transfer guard used Sunday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center to give the No. 6 Tigers (17-0) an even wider double-digit lead over Auburn, their second Southeastern Conference opponent of the season.
Once again, a spell of sloppy ball handling put LSU into an early deficit. And once again, an uptick in defensive activity unclogged the Tigers’ offense, which surged to a 27-point second quarter and a 73-63 win over Auburn (9-6). LSU gave away six of its first 15 possessions and misfired on seven of its first 12 field-goal attempts.
As a result, the Tigers scored just 11 points in the first quarter, tying their season low for points scored in the first period of play, and fell into an early five-point hole. Auburn, on the other hand, knocked in a pair of 3-pointers and grabbed three early offensive rebounds. Then the game flipped in the second quarter.
A smothering LSU defense forced Auburn into 10 field-goal misses and six turnovers in that frame. At the other end, a reenergized Tigers offense shot 12 of 18 from the field, pulled down a trio of offensive boards and committed only one turnover. In just the second quarter, Gilbert and Morrow combined to score 19 points.
Morrow muscled her way to 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting, 14 rebounds and 3 steals, and Gilbert attacked downhill to score most of her 17 total points. The reserve guard didn’t miss a shot until the third quarter. By then, she had already sparked the LSU offense, which shot 56% from the field, scored 44 points in the paint and committed only 10 turnovers across the game’s final three quarters.
Gilbert’s offensive lift helped LSU overcome uncharacteristically quiet games from Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams, the pair of star guards who scored a combined 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting in the first three quarters of play. Johnson and Williams eventually found an offensive rhythm in the fourth quarter, which allowed them each to finish their days with double-figure scoring totals. Johnson tallied 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting, and Williams notched 10 on 3-of-9 shooting.
It also helped LSU roll past an Auburn team that shot 38% from 3-point range but 43% from the field. The visiting Tigers did not have the services of Taliah Scott — a star sophomore transfer who’s missed all but three games this season with an injury — or Kaitlyn Duhon, a junior who averaged 26 minutes per night in the eight contests she’s played this year. LSU next will play a road game Thursday against No.
15 Tennessee, its first ranked opponent of the SEC slate of games. On Sunday, the Lady Vols (13-1) lost a close game to No. 9 Oklahoma 87-86.
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