LSU rolls past Texas Southern, 106-47

BATON ROUGE — The No. 7 LSU women’s basketball team rolled past Texas Southern, 106-47, on Monday night inside the Pete Maravich Center in its fourth 100-point game of the season. 

Flau’Jae Johnson led the Tigers in her second straight 17-point performance. The Sophomore added 8 rebounds to lead the team for the second game in a row and 5 steals. 

Four other Tigers reached double figures as LSU shot 48-percent from the field. Anessah Morrow had 17 points and accounted for 7 of  LSU’s, season high, 22 steals. Morrow had 9 steals during Tuesday’s game against Kent State. Hailey Van Lith scored 16 points for the first time while wearing the purple and gold. 

“We are playing faster because we are more comfortable knowing where each other are on the floor,” Van Lith said.

Freshman Mikaylah Williams earned 14 points with four threes in her fifth straight game in double figures. Aalyah Del Rosario also scored 10 points for the first time in her collegiate career. At one point in the game, Coach Kim Mulkey had a lineup that included all four freshmen along with Last-Tear Poa.

“They bring joy about them that they are so excited to be at LSU, and they know that they are the future,” Coach Mulkey said of the freshmen heavy lineup. “Any minutes that they get, they don’t want to waste it. They don’t want to disappoint you. They want to do good.”

“I feel good,” Del Rosario said. “I feel good that I gave my team all that I have. I gave all of my effort wherever it was needed.”

LSU went 25-31 (80.6-percent) from the charity stripe for its most free throws in any game this season. Last-Tear Poa (4-5) and Del Rosario (4-4) scored four from the line while Johnson (3-3), Van Lith (3-3), Williams (2-2), and Morrow (1-1) were all perfect from the line.  

LSU forced 35 turnovers, the most since a game against McNeese in 2018, the included 22 steals and the Tigers scored 48 points off the turnovers. LSU was dominant in the paint, scoring 60 points there.

“​​I do like the activity we have going on,” Coach Kim Mulkey said of the team’s defensive effort. “I like their perseverance, their resolve right now.”

LSU will spend its Thanksgiving break at the Cayman Island Classic with games against Niagara on Friday and against Virginia on Saturday. Friday’s game will be at 12:30 p.m. CT and Saturday’s contest is slated for 4:00 p.m. CT. All games will be played in George Town, Cayman Islands at the John Gray Gymnasium and streamed on FloHoops. 

After TSU took a 4-2 lead to start the game a Williams triple sparked a 5-0 LSU run. Galban tied things back up at 7 with a three of her own at the seven minute mark. LSU came out of the media timeout on an 8-0 run that was capped off by a coast-to-coast, and-one finish from Van Lith. Van Lith and Johnson led the Tigers as they combined for 15 to give LSU a 26-11 lead after the opening ten minutes.  

LSU took a 19-point lead as it forced turnover number 15 through the first four minutes of the second quarter. Through the first five minutes of the quarter Johnson and Morrow had accumulated 8 of the Tigers’ 10 second quarter points. LSU held TSU scoreless for the final three minutes of the second quarter as it ended on a 15-1 run to take a 31-point lead into the break. 

Van Lith led all scorers in the first 20 minutes with 12. The transfer was 4-8 from the field, 1-1 from three, and 3-3 from the foul line. Johnson added 11 and led the team off the glass with 5. Morrow was the third Tiger to reach double figures in the opening half with 10. Morrow also added 6 steals in her 18 minutes of action in the first half. LSU earned 15 steals as a team.

TSU had 22 turnovers in the first half and no players with more than 5 points. Belton and Galban combined for 10 of TSU’s 18 first half points. Each player had 5. 

After trading buckets for the opening two minutes of the third quarter, LSU went on a 11-0 run to push its lead past 40. Williams hit back-to-back threes before Lawson snapped the streak with TSU’s third three-pointer of the night. LSU held TSU without a field goal for over three minutes in the back half of the third quarter. Williams scored 9 in the third to bring her total to 14 and Del Rosario reached 8 points for the first time in her career. LSU went into the final quarter with a 85-31 advantage. 

LSU opened the final quarter similar to the third as it traded field goals with TSU in the opening two minutes. TSU called a timeout with three minutes remaining as LSU broke past the century mark off two made free throws from Del Rosario. Izzy Besselman and Del Rosario made more free throws late to secure the 59-point victory.