Morrow shines as LSU beats Florida, advancing in SEC Tournament

GREENVILLE, S.C. – No. 3 seed LSU (28-4) defeated No. 11 seed Florida (16-17) in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, 101-87, as the Tigers set a program record for points in a SEC Tournament game led by Aneesah Morrow who individually set a program record for points in a SEC Tournament game.

The Tigers are in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament for the third consecutive season. LSU will face No. 2 seed Texas on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2. The Longhorns defeated LSU during the regular season in Austin and Texas shared the SEC regular season championship with South Carolina.

First Team All-SEC Morrow was relentless with 36 points on 15-21 shooting to go with 14 rebounds for her 27th double-double this season and 101st of her career. Three LSU players previously scored 30 points in an SEC Tournament game, most recently current LSU assistant Seimone Augustus in the 2006 SEC Tournament against Ole Miss. The 15 made field goals also set a program SEC Tournament record and her 14 rebounds were the fifth most in program history in a SEC Tournament game.

“I was kind of just being a little bit more calm, letting the game come to me,” Morrow said. “I feel like it showed well tonight. I shot well from the field.”

“It means I’m the luckiest coach in the world,” said Associate Head Coach Bob Starkey who was also on staff when Augustus was at LSU. “I’ve been blessed more than anybody I know to coach some amazing players. The thing that I would say that makes me the proudest tonight is the happiest person in that locker room was Seimone. I mean, that’s the kind of person she is.”

First Team All-SEC Mikaylah Williams scored 16 points and had a career-high eight assists. Mjracle Sheppard scored 12 points and Kailyn Gilbert chipped in 10 points.

It was the 11th time in the history of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament that a team has eclipsed 100 points. LSU’s previous tournament high was 99 against Tennessee in 1997.

Liv McGill led Florida with 16 points and six assists. It was the Gators’ third game in three days in the tournament. 

Although Head Coach Kim Mulkey was on the bench, she arrived in Greenville on Friday after a death in her family had kept her back in Louisiana throughout the week. Coach Starkey led the team Friday night. Coach Starkey led LSU to the 2007 Final Four as an interim head coach.

“I wasn’t coming in here and taking over,” Coach Mulkey said. “Are you kidding me? I told Bob before the game started, You are coaching tonight. You know what you’ve done all week to prepare our team.”

“I think I’ve been given too much credit,” Coach Starkey said. “I’ve been blessed on these few times where I had to take over to have a really, really good team. The better the players, the better the coach. Coach Mulkey has given me the blueprint.”

“This man deserves to be in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame,” Coach Mulkey added. “I’ve been begging them for years. We have two associate head coaches that are in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, but not either one of them ever took a team on an interim basis to a Final Four.”

LSU was active on the defensive end with 19 forced turnovers which led to 25 points. The Tigers were also dominant inside with 46 points in the paint.

LSU started the game on a 8-3 run to jump out to an early lead. Morrow scored eight of LSU’s first 10 points and also grabbed five rebounds in the first five minutes. With the defense continuing to play good, Shayeann Day-Wilson hit a three in her first shot off the bench to give LSU a 14-5 lead at the media timeout. Day-Wilson gave LSU a double-figure lead as she sank her second three-point attempt. The Gators scored the next nine points to tighten the LSU lead to three points. Morrow ended the run to reach double figures in the first quarter. After forcing eight Florida turnovers in the opening quarter, the Tigers carried a 26-16 lead into the second quarter.

LSU was held scoreless through the first two minutes of the second quarter and the Tigers took a timeout after five unanswered Florida points. Out of the timeout LSU scored the next six points, including Williams’ first bucket after missing her first six shots, to extend the lead back to double figures. LSU’s defensive pressure remained relentless, forcing four more turnovers in the first six minutes of the second quarter as LSU took a 15-point lead which it extended to lead 53-34 at the half. 

The Tigers committed three turnovers in the first 1:15 of the third quarter and Florida scored the first four points of the half. Morrow got the Tigers on the board in the second half after an offensive putback to secure her 27th double-double of the season. The Gators, on a 10-0 run, got the game back within 10 in the first three minutes of the quarter. LSU scored the next four points as the Tigers worked to extend their lead back to 15 by the 4:30 mark. Although LSU did not extend its lead much more, the Tigers did not allow any extended Florida runs and carried a 78-62 lead to the fourth.

LSU closed it out in the fourth as Morrow set the program record for points in a SEC Tournament game and the Tigers advanced to the semifinals for the third straight year.

*LSU press release