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Angel Reese waves goodbye to Middle Tennessee Anastasiia Boldyreva after fouling her out

Screen Shot 2024-05-28 at 9.09.17 AMby:Kaiden Smith•03/24/24•

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SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

LSU waved goodbye to Middle Tennessee State’s lead in the third quarter of their second-round matchup of the Women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday. With the Tigers entering the fourth quarter up 59-49 over the Blue Raiders after finding themselves surprisingly down by four points at halftime.

Tigers’ star Angel Reese also did some waving of her own after MTSU center Anastasiia Boldyreva fouled out of Sunday’s game. Waving goodbye to Boldyreva after she drew her fifth foul of the afternoon on a Reese layup attempt in a savage moment that can be seen below.

Boldyreva was clearly not pleased with the foul call, seen filled with frustration as she took the sideline with tears in her eyes. She was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field with nine points, two rebounds, and three blocks before fouling out of the game, as the Conference-USA Defensive Player of the Year only logged 16 minutes in Sunday’s contest while facing foul trouble. With MTSU eventually falling 83-56 to the defending national champions.

Reese came to life in the second half, scoring 16 of her 20 points in the final two quarters of the game along with three assists and an impressive effort on the defensive end of the floor. Recording two steals, a block, and 11 rebounds to mark her 25th double-double of the season and her 14th in a row. Also posting her eighth straight NCAA Tournament double-double which is the third-longest streak by any player in the last 25 years.

Sophomore guard Flau’jae Johnson also played a major role in LSU’s second-half turnaround, giving the Tigers a spark in the third quarter where she scored nine of her team-high 21 points. And after the game, she spoke about the importance of herself and Reese’s leadership in Sunday’s win.

“For me, we’ve been in situations like this last year,” Johnson said. “Last year, I was a freshman, and we had vets like Alexis Morris and LaDazhia Williams. So, the load was kind of off of me, and now, I feel like it’s on me now. So now, I’ve got to be the one to be like, ‘No, we’re good. Stay calm, stay poised, keep our composure.’”

“Me and Angel Reese were on that team last year when we won the championship. So I’m just telling them, come on, we’ve got to keep that energy.”

LSU advances to their second straight Sweet Sixteen appearance after winning last year’s national championship, facing the winner of Monday’s second-round matchup between Creighton and UCLA.