LSU meets UCLA again, this time with trip to Final Four on the line

SPOKANE, Wash. – LSU is back in the Elite Eight for the third year in a row as the Tigers will square off against the tournament top overall seed in UCLA Sunday at 2 p.m. CT on ABC.

Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe will call the action on ABC. Fans can listen to Patrick Wright and Shaeeta Williams on the LSU Sports Radio Network, 100.7 FM in Baton Rouge.

LSU is looking to make a trip back to the Final Four – in Tampa this year – two years after capturing the program’s first National Championship in Dallas. The Tigers are in search of their seventh Final Four appearance. To get there, LSU will need to take down the team that has stood atop the polls for most of the season.

“(Lauren Betts) is so talented,” Coach Kim Mulkey said. “Just watching her from high school until today, it’s amazing how good she is. Certainly her height is an advantage and we’re not going to grow that tall overnight. But we have to battle and do the best we can. But she’s not all they have. Certainly everything they do goes through her, as it should, but they’re talented at a lot of positions.”

Sunday will be a rematch of last year’s Sweet 16 in Albany where LSU took UCLA down, 78-69. Flau’Jae Johnson was LSU’s spark in that win with 24 points. On Friday against NC State, Johnson was held to a season-low 3 points, but she impacted the game with 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

“Today’s a new day, and she’s got that smile on her face and that joyful spirit that makes her Flau’Jae,” Coach Mulkey said.

In LSU’s Sweet 16 win over NC State it was Annesah Morrow, Sa’Myah Smith and Mikaylah Williams that stole the show. Morrow had 30 points and 19 rebounds while Smith recorded her second straight 20-point double-double. Williams chipped in 19 points with 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

They are the only teammate trio this century to combine for 70+ points & 35+ rebounds in a women’s NCAA Tournament game.

Morrow is five rebounds shy of moving to No. 3 on the NCAA DI career rebounding list and 15 shy of the No. 3 spot on LSU’s single-season rebounding list. The senior continues to set new career marks.

“Just trying to stay focused on the task at hand.,” Morrow said. “That’s one thing that I’ve been trying to do, just stay present in the moment. Every play is one of the most important plays and think about that throughout the game or even while preparing for the game. I pay a lot of attention to my scout and a lot of detail as well.”

UCLA claimed the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll after defeating South Carolina, 77-62, in the first month of the season and remained there for much of the regular season. The Bruins have dropped only two games all season, both to cross-town rival USC. UCLA won the Big 10 Tournament though, avenging their earlier defeats against the Trojans.

The junior Betts who stands at 6-7 is an All-America player who averages 20.1 points and 9.7 rebounds. In UCLA’s win over Ole Miss on Friday, Betts had 31 points and 10 rebounds. In the three NCAA Tournament games this year, Betts is shooting 83-percent.

“We’ve been paying attention to our scout and our detail, and we know that Lauren is a great player and a post player,” Morrow said. “Being able to be as active as she is and being that big post presence in the inside, we know that we’ll be up for a challenge, but we’re ready.”

Kiki Rice is the only other Bruin to score in double-figures at 13.1 points per game, but the Bruins get contributions from six other players who score more than 5 points per game.

*LSU press release