Carson and Reese lead LSU to 90-79 win at Florida

*Press release

GAINESVILLE, Fla.— Jasmine Carson’s career-high 25 points and was backed by Angel Reese’s 25 points and 16 rebounds to lead No. 5 LSU (25-1, 13-1 SEC) to a 90-79 victory over the Florida Gators (14-12, 3-10 SEC) Sunday afternoon.

The Extactech Arena crowd of 3,498 was Florida’s largest home crowd of the season as many LSU fans came out to support the Tigers.

“I thought we controlled the game,” Coach Kim Mulkey said. “I felt very good about what we did the entire game. I think you’re gonna get everybody’s best shot. We’re not a hidden commodity any more. We’re relevant. I’ve got kids all over social media that these young people come on the road to see. I think that’s reflected in their attendance today.”

To get her career-high, Carson nailed seven three-pointers, the most by a LSU player since Pietra Gay had 7 in 1997. Reese notched her 25th double-double through 26 games this season within the first half on Sunday afternoon and she finished with 25 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals. 

LaDazhia Williams recorded her third double-double of the season as she added 15 points and brought down 10 boards. Flau’jae Johnson scored 12, including 10 in the final quarter, and Alexis Morris led the way with 6 assists.

Kirsten Deans led Florida 30 points on 10-20 shooting and 5 three-pointers. Ra Shaya Kyle and Jordyn Merritt were the other Gators in double figures both scoring 12 points. 

Up next the Tigers will stay on the road this week for a Thursday night matchup at Vanderbilt. Tip-Off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.CT and will be streamed live on the SEC Network +.  

Florida jumped out to a 6-point 13-7 lead early on but the Tigers battled back to knot things up at 15 for the first media timeout. Morris and Johnson both picked up two quick fouls in the first, forcing them onto the bench early in the game. Carson and Reese led the way with 8 points a piece in the first quarter. Reese went 4-4 and had five rebounds and Carson hit two from deep to help LSU earn a 27-23 lead after the opening ten minutes. 

The first quarter included five lead changes and five ties. LSU’s 27 first quarter points were the most in the opening quarter of any game this season inside conference play. 

Last-Tear Poa hit a deep three on the wing to open the second quarter and push the LSU lead to seven. Poa’s three started a 10-0 run that gave the Tigers their largest lead of the night, jumping ahead by 14 without letting Florida score in the first four minutes of the second. Carson hit back to back threes within 32 seconds of each other to total a career high 5 three-pointers within the half. LSU went into the break with a 47-31 lead after holding the Gators to just 8 second quarter points. 

The Tigers were on fire in the first-half, making 56–percent of their shot attempts (67-percent from beyond the arc) to jump out to the 16-point lead. Carson set a career-high before halftime with five made threes as her and Reese combined for 31 first half points. Coming off a 36 point and 20 rebound game Thursday against Texas A&M, Reese kept it rolling and finished the first half with 14 points and 13 rebounds, her ninth first half double-double of the season.

Through the first five minutes of third quarter action Florida held the Tigers scoreless and to cut the lead to 9 after putting together a 9-0 run. A technical foul on Nina Rickards sent Morris to the foul line who went 2-2 to snap the Florida run and give LSU its first points of the quarter. Carson continued her career performance from deep as she hit a three to total 20 points and bring the LSU lead back to double figures. 

The Gators outscored LSU 19-12 in the third and trailed by nine as they headed into the final quarter. The Tigers shot only 26.7-percent in the quarter and were unable to get their desired post touches as the Gators made a dent in the LSU lead.

Johnson scored 10 in the fourth quarter on 4-4 shooting to reach double figures. Reese scored 11 more and both Williams and Carson had 5 in the final quarter. Florida’s Deans dropped 13 in the fourth but it was not enough to get past the deficit. Florida earned 7 points off of free throws and only had two boards. The Tigers held its lead and finished the night with a 11-point win for LSU’s 25th victory of the season.

Mulkey quotes

On the offensive success…

“When you’re in the film room you see which teams are tougher defensively and which teams are going to be harder to score on in different positions,” Mulkey said. “We knew after watching film on Florida that they usually play a lot of kids and if we just reversed the ball we were going to get any shot we wanted. Jasmine got a lot of good open looks and thank goodness she was hitting them. They played more zone than they played all year. We prepared for everything we saw today and I was proud of how we came out of the gates. Florida’s first quarters are always very impressive. They attack people in the first quarter and I thought we matched their intensity even though I had two starters sitting by me.

“I was really proud of the three coming off the bench. They did their job today.”

On Jasmine Carson’s big night…

“Everybody knows Jasmine is a 3-point shooter and if you’re a shooter you keep shooting. I’ve never told a shooter to stop shooting. It’s important for us because you want those perimeter shooters so they can’t sag on our posts all night. When she’s hitting like that you have to pick your poison. It helps her confidence because she feels when she’s missing shots or doesn’t get looks that she’s not contributing. You have to now tell Jasmine and Flau’jae that people have now watched tons of film on you guys, they know your strengths and weaknesses, so you’re not going to get all that you got in the non-conference. It’s at another level now. Sometimes they need to be told that. 

On pulling away…

“We’re a play or two away on both ends from separating ourselves [in these games]. We’d go up 15 or 16 points, then we’d give something back. That’s what we’re working on. Y’all work hard on getting leads, but you have to be able to separate yourselves.”

What she told the team going to the fourth quarter…

“Just challenging them. We have two games left, then we have the conference tournament then the playoffs. It is time for coach to take it up a notch. It’s time for me to challenge them and it’s time for them to respond. They always want to do well and do what I ask them to do, but it’s time to turn the heat up on some of them. It was that kind of motivating talk than it was Xs and Os.”