LSU survives Tulane's comeback attempt in 86-74 win

BATON ROUGE – After leading by 20 going into the fourth quarter, LSU (6-0) survived Tulane’s (1-3) fourth quarter comeback attempt Wednesday in the PMAC, outlasting the Green Wave, 85-74.

Tulane started the fourth quarter on a 17-4 run to reduce the deficit to seven, but LSU held the Green Wave without a bucket over the final three minutes to remain unbeaten.

“We had a 20 point lead on them and they never went away,” Coach Kim Mulkey said about Tulane. “If they play like that going forward in their conference I think they will win a lot of basketball games.”  

Flau’jae Johnson finished the contest with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists to record her third straight 25-5-5 game. She scored 15 points in the second half and also had 2 blocks. Aneesah Morrow recorded her nation-leading fifth double-double of the season with 23 points and 16 rebounds. 

“The kid has a motor,” Mulkey said about Morrow. “Like in life, you want to be around people that have energy and enthusiasm. She never stops, whether they miss a shot, get a rebound or don’t, she never stops. She’s consistently working.”

Jersey Wolfenbarger had a season-high for the second game in a row with 15 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Sa’Myah Smith contributed 9 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.

“I see a lot of confidence,” Morrow said about Wolfenbarger’s development. “I feel like she’s getting the feel of it now. She always pulls me to the side if she ever needs help or has any questions. I feel like she’s more confident playing. We help each other and communicate.”

“If you combine Sa’Myah Smith and Jersey,” Coach Mulkey explained, “you can’t ask them to do anymore than they did tonight. Look at their stats. I’ll take that any day. They both got good minutes. They both produced. They both got rebounds. They scored the ball.”

Along with Johnson, both Mikaylah Williams and Last-Tear Poa had five assists in the game.

Tulane had two players finish with over 20 points. Kyren Whittington had a team-high 24 points, 20 of which came in the second half. All of Victoria Keenan’s 21 points came in the first half when she shot 7-8 from beyond the arc. LSU’s Johnson held her scoreless in the second half, limiting her to three shot attempts.

“The thing I’m most proud of is getting on number two from Tulane (Keenan), who hit seven threes, but she didn’t score in the second half,” Johnson said. “Mostly, I kept the mentality of not letting the first half defeat me.”

Morrow kicked off the scoring for the Tigers, converting an and-1 layup off the assist from Johnson. Johnson and Williams both found success in the lane early in the first quarter and converted layups to give LSU the early 7-2 lead. The Tigers entered the media timeout on an 8-2 run with contributions from Mikaylah Williams, Morrow and Wolfenbarger. Out of the break, Wolfenbarger forced a steal to lead a Johnson mid-range jumper that featured some shifty maneuvering to increase LSU’s lead to 10. Wolfenbarger continued to assert her presence in the offensive paint, and cashed a putback layup over two Tulane defenders. After one quarter, LSU led Tulane 25-15. Morrow scored 9 points on 4-6 shooting and tallied 4 rebounds to pace the Tigers in both categories. LSU held Tulane to 6-18 shooting in the first and forced 4 turnovers. 

Sa’Myah Smith got the Tigers started in the second quarter with a made layup. After two made three pointers from Tulane’s Victoria Keenan, Morrow responded with a tough layup in the paint and a mid-range to restore a 10 point LSU lead. After Last-Tear Poa forced an offensive foul, Williams found Johnson in the corner for a three pointer that boosted the energy in the arena. Keenan remained hot for Tulane, dropping multiple triples in short succession to cut LSU’s lead to 8. But, Wolfenbarger gave LSU an important spark on offense as the forward cashed two shots on back-to-back possessions. Poa continued to facilitate the offense, as the veteran guard found Wolfenbarger in the paint once again for the and-1 score. At the half, LSU held a 50-37 lead over Tulane. Morrow and Wolfenbarger led the Tigers in scoring with 15 and 13, respectively. The Bayou Bengals were strong on the glass in the half, out rebounding the Green Wave 26-17. 

Both teams struggled to start the quarter with offense, but LSU ended the drought with Morrow scoring on back-to-back possessions. Johnson then flew down the lane and beat the defender to the spot for the and-1 layup to give LSU the 15 point lead over Tulane. Morrow earned her fifth double-double of the season and fourth consecutive in the third quarter. Johnson cashed her second three pointer of the game off the assist from Shayeann Day-Wilson. The Tigers brought offensive creativity to the forefront of the contest, as Smith found Poa on a tip pass for the easy two points. Johnson grabbed her 10th rebound of the contest in the third, giving the standout guard her second 10 point, 10 rebound performance of the season. Smith made an immediate impact on the boards in the third quarter, as she grabbed multiple missed shots and converted putbacks. The Tigers held a commanding 75-55 lead after three quarters. 

Morrow secured a 20 point night with the first bucket of the fourth quarter. Tulane went on a 13-2 run over 5 minutes in the fourth, which prompted an LSU timeout. Guard Kyren Whittington led the Green Wave’s late-game effort with 9 points in the offensive attack. Johnson dropped a layup with 3:30 remaining to give LSU a 10 point advantage. On the very next possession, Tulane was able to get the long range triple to fall and cut LSU’s lead back to 7. The Tigers forced a missed three pointer from the Green Wave and Johnson got the second-chance layup to fall on the next possession. After both teams found buckets in crunch time, LSU forced Tulane to foul and ended the game 85-74.

*LSU press release