1 week Ago
LSU’s Mikaylah Williams (12) drives to the basket as Murray State’s Ava Learn (14) defends in the first half of the LSU vs Murray State game Friday in LSU’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The LSU women’s basketball team overcame a disastrous second quarter and survived Murray State Friday, pulling out an 74-60 win to avoid a stunning upset loss in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The No.
7 Tigers (4-0) led by 11 after the first quarter. Then Murray State’s offense erupted. The Racers (1-2) outscored LSU 32-12 in the second quarter after they converted 11 of their 18 field goal tries, four of their six 3-pointers and six of their seven free throws.
On defense, they clamped down on the Tigers, who committed seven fouls and three turnovers in the frame while shooting just 4 of 17 from the field and only 1 of 7 from beyond the arc. Murray State took a 46-37 lead into halftime — seemingly in the blink of an eye. Then LSU stole back control of the game in the third quarter, once its offense began to thaw, and retook the lead in the fourth, once its defense strung together a few key stops.
But what went wrong in the second? LSU scored zero points from the paint, from its bench and from either of the two turnovers Murray State committed in the second quarter. Mikaylah Williams, the star sophomore who scored the Tigers’ first nine points of the night, missed all three of her shots from beyond the arc and converted just two of her seven field goal tries. The only other Tigers who scored in the period were Flau’jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow.
In the second, they accounted for 11 of LSU’s 12 points. Murray State caught fire from 3-point range and earned trips to the free-throw line, taking away opportunities for LSU to use its transition offense. The Tigers had no answer for 6-foot-1 wing Ava Learn, a senior who tallied 16 points in the second quarter after she shot 2 of 3 from beyond the arc, 5 of 7 from the field and 4 of 4 at the stripe.
LSU engaged its full-court press halfway through the second in hopes of slowing down Murray State’s offense. But then Learn countered with a quick nine points, three from a layup she scored through an Aalyah Del Rosario foul and six from a pair 3-pointers she nailed on consecutive possessions. She helped the Racers add five points to their lead before the break.
In the third quarter, LSU was more composed on the offensive end. Shayeann Day-Wilson assisted a couple of transition layups, one early in the frame to Morrow and another later in the quarter to Sa’Myah Smith. Kailyn Gilbert stepped into an open 3 on the left wing.
Morrow chipped in five points after she hit both of her field goals and split a pair of free throws. Then, LSU pulled in front, thanks to the layup Morrow rolled in on a second-chance opportunity and the mid-range jumper Johnson canned off a screen. In the second half, Murray State missed all 14 of its attempts from beyond the arc.
It also misfired on 23 of its 27 field goal tries and committed eight turnovers. The Racers assisted only one of the four shots it sank across the third and fourth quarters. Johnson was LSU’s leading scorer.
She finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists while shooting 9 of 13 from the field. She scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. Next, LSU will host Troy at 7 p.
m. Monday..
