Morrow's double-double leads LSU in 80-73 win over NC State

SPOKANE, Wash. – LSU trailed by five points with under five minutes remaining, but the Tigers refused to be defeated and ended the game on a 12-2 run, defeating NC State, 80-73, to head back to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year.

“I think there’s five in our locker room that have never been to a Sweet 16,” Coach Kim Mulkey said, referencing Kailyn Gilbert, Miracle Sheppard, Shayeann Day-Wilson, Jersey Wolfenbarger and Jada Richard. “So they certainly haven’t been to an Elite 8, and that’s what excites you as a coach, is having players experience something for the first time. And you don’t take it for granted. You just don’t. 

“We made plays down the stretch. We made some bad plays down the stretch, but we made plays down the stretch to pull it out and win, and it means we did some good stuff.”

Aneesah Morrow was dominant, recording her 30th double-double of the season. She finished with 30 points, 19 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. 

“Nobody likes to lose, so I talked to my teammates in the huddle, and I told them we got to take our matchups personally,” Morrow said. “We have to be able to dominate and we have to be able to make defensive stops and we did that towards the end of the game.”

Sa’Myah Smith also came up big in the win with 21 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Mikaylah Williams had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

Zoe Brooks led NC State with 21 players as one of three to finish in double figures.

It was a back-and-forth game. LSU jumped out to a double figure lead in the first quarter, but the Wolfpack punched back to take a four point lead into the half. The teams traded blows in the third quarter as the game stayed within three the whole quarter. 

In the final quarter the Wolfpack claimed control early, but Williams got LSU back on track, scoring six straight as the Tigers came together in the clutch to win their ninth game this season by 10 points or less. Kailyn Gilbert came up with a big block after she was beat off the dribble with under two minutes left led to a bucket by Williams that helped put the game away.

“She had me beat on that play, and I just saw that she brought the ball in front of me a little bit, so I went up and got it and then chased it down, and pushed the ball up,” Gilbert said.

LSU will return to action on Sunday to face the winner of the UCLA-Ole Miss game in the Spokane 1 Regional Final with a trip to the Final Four on the line. The game will tip at 2 p.m. CT on ABC.

Smith scored LSU’s first six points before Williams got involved to give LSU an early 10-5 advantage. The Tigers took a 10-point lead, 18-8, when Morrow sank a three just past the halfway point of the quarter. Morrow had 9 in the first quarter, Williams had 8 and Smith had six as the only three Tigers to score, giving LSU a 23-15 lead after one. LSU came out firing, shooting 46-percent in the first quarter and holding NC State to 30-percent.

Within the first three minutes of the second quarter, LSU cooled down and NC State tied the game at 25. The Tigers scored the next four and then NC State scored five straight to take the lead. Kailyn Gilbert knocked down her first shot to give LSU the lead back briefly. NC State came back to take a three-point lead, but Gilbert responded to tie the game at 34. LSU went into the half trailing, 40-36.

LSU evened the game up in the first minute and a half coming out of the break. Flau’Jae Johnson gave LSU the lead back, scoring her first points of the game on a fastbreak. The Tigers held NC State scoreless for over three minutes and led, 51-48, at the media timeout. LSU took a 57-53 lead into the fourth.

Within the first two minutes, NC State held LSU scoreless and retook the lead, building its lead to five. Looking to mount a comeback, LSU brought it back within two with Morrow reaching 30 going to work on the inside and took a timeout with 4:38 left in the game. NC State hit a three out of the timeout to bring its lead back to five. Williams scored the next four, bringing it back within one. LSU was able to pull ahead late and close out the victory, 80-73.

*LSU press release