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LSU WBB comes from behind to beat Georgia 82-77 in overtime

On3 imageby:Matthew Brune•02/02/23•

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Angel Reese LSU Basketball
Courtesy LSU Basketball

Coming off of LSU’s last game, a thrilling home win against Tennessee, it was understandable that the Tigers would take a second to find their footing in the next contest. However, what was not expected was for LSU to be pushed to the brink by a Georgia team under .500 in conference play.

Georgia entered this game ready for a physical contest and was ready to slow the game down from the opening tip. The Bulldogs played a “matchup” zone as their head coach described it, where Georgia could dig, overload, and eliminate any isolation opportunities for the Tigers.

For three quarters it worked, LSU trailed by five entering the final frame and its two stars Angel Reese and Alexis Morris combined for 11 points. The lead grew to nine with under eight minutes left, before the Tigers finally cracked the Georgia defense. 

LSU got to the free throw line and got enough stops to tie the game, send it to overtime, and grind out a 82-77 win in the extra period.

The Tigers ended the game shooting 45 free throws, but only making 28 of them, at 62.2 percent.

Angel Reese imposed her will in the fourth quarter and overtime, ending the game with 23 points and 14 rebounds, 11 of which were offensive boards. Morris made some timely threes and clutch free throws, ending the game with 15 points.

Freshman forward S’Myah Smith and senior forward Ladahzia Williams were the other two in double figures, both ending with 10 points.

For the game, LSU shot 35.8 percent from the field, while the Bulldogs ended at 54.7 percent. The difference was 20 second chance points to six in favor of LSU, plus-seven in the turnover margin, and plus-13 at the free throw line.

“Kudos to Georgia, they played a really tough 1-2-2 and zoned us all game which we hadn’t seen all year,” Reese said. “We started off slow, but it was really about us guarding. We didn’t guard that well in the first half but were much better in the second half. We adjusted pretty well. This was something we needed.”

Concerns?

Zones have given LSU fits over the past two seasons, especially with the Tigers’ reluctance to rely on the outside shot. Only ending with 18 turnovers was actually impressive, considering how ugly the offense was for stretches. The zone offense will be a focal point for the coming week as the Tigers go into the last stretch of the regular season,

The guard play consistency is another concern of mine. The positive is that Mulkey has options and has been able to rotate different lineups throughout the season when one of the players doesn’t play well. Flau’jae Johnson, Kateri Poole, Jasmine Carson, and Last-Tear Poa all have their moments, but the most important player is still Alexis Morris. There have been too many quarters and halves where she just disappears. LSU will need her to be much more assertive in order to beat good teams.

Ultimately, we’ll continue to nitpick, but a win like this is not an indictment on the season or anything like that. It was a tough game after an emotional win and the Tigers took care of business. Now, for a tough road game on Sunday at Texas A&M who has a few key players healthy that it didn’t have in the first meeting.

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