Johnson and Morrow lead LSU in 81-58 win at Texas A&M

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — A staunch first half defensive effort boosted No. 13 LSU over Texas A&M, 81-58, on Monday night inside Reed Arena. The Tigers held the Aggies to just 14 points in the first half and finished the night shooting 52.5-percent from the field. 

Aneesah Morrow earned her 16th double-double of the season as she led all scorers with 25 points and 15 rebounds to lead both teams off the glass. Morrow looked to be back in her groove after not reaching double figures for just the second time this season against Alabama last week. Morrow scored 19 points in the second half alone. 

Flau’Jae Johnson finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds as she recorded her 16th-straight double figure game.  Johnson went 7-11 from the field and connected on 2 three-point attempts. The Sophomore dropped 13 in the first half and was just one rebound shy from her first double-double this season.  

Angel Reese recorded her 50th double-double in an LSU uniform on Monday night with a 13 and 10 performance. Reese has earned a double-double in nine of her last ten games this season, she now has 16 this year. 

Texas A&M, who was without starting point guard Endyia Rogers with an injury, was led by Janiah Barker and Aicha Coulibaly. The duo combined for 37 points scoring 21 and 16, respectively. Sahara Jones was the only other Aggie to reach double figures with 10. No Aggie hauled in more than 9 boards off the glass. 

LSU will be back at home on Thursday night as it hosts Auburn at 8 p.m. CT inside the PMAC. In their last meeting, Auburn won by a narrow 5-point margin to give LSU its second loss of the season. 

Both teams started 0-3 from the field through before Reese scored the first points of the game with a fast break layup on an assist from Morrow. The Aggies responded with 4-straight points before Van Lith silenced the crowd with a triple. LSU extended the run to 9-0 to take a 11-4 lead at the first media timeout where Morrow had already grabbed five rebounds. Texas A&M put together a 6-0 run to get within five before LSU went on a 6-0 run of its own to end the quarter. The quarter was capped off with a buzzer beater finish from Johnson that gave the Tigers a 21-10 advantage heading into the second. 

Johnson rolled over her momentum to open the second quarter with a spot-up three-pointer. LSU improved to a 12-2 run as it shot an impressive 58-percent from the field to start the game. At the first timeout the Tigers were up 33-21 with just under five minutes to play before the half. The Aggies were held to just 2 points in the final 5 minutes of the second. LSU was only able to score 3, all from the foul line, in the final 5 minutes. The Tigers owned a 36-14 lead after the first half. 

The Tigers were 15-32 for 47-percent from the field and were 29-percent from deep in the opening half. Texas A&M went 7-35 from the field for just 20-percent and were 0-8 from three in the first 20 minutes of action. LSU’s stout defense led the Tiger to 14 fastbreak points in the first half.

LSU opened the third with a 6-0 run that saw all 6 points come from the charity stripe inside the first two minutes. Both squads traded buckets through the middle of the quarter that featured some words exchanged back and forth by both teams. Technical fouls were assessed to Reese and A&M’s Kay Kay Green, those fouls offset and no free throws were taken.  The Aggies started to chip into the Tiger leader after Reese was subbed out with 4 fouls halfway through the quarter. The Aggies went on an 11-2 run at the end of the quarter to trail by 21 heading into the final quarter. 

Texas A&M continued to gain on the Tigers as it put together a 7-2 run to get to as close as 18 points with over 8 minutes to play. LSU had 3 players with 4 personal fouls halfway through the fourth quarter. Last-Tear Poa, Mikaylah Williams, and Reese made up the trio. The Tigers got back on track with a 5-0 run led by Morrow to go up by 23. LSU held on to its lead and made free throws down the stretch to cruise to a 23-point victory.

*LSU press release