"We grew up tonight." LSU WBB holds off Arkansas in 79-76 win
It had been nearly a month and a half since LSU played a game that was remotely close in the final quarter. In the midst of LSU’s historic start, Kim Mulkey’s team had only two wins by less than 19 points this season.
Mulkey continued to say that she would take these blowout wins in conference, but there was plenty to work on as the Tigers prepared for the toughest stretch of their schedule.
On Thursday night, LSU faced Arkansas for the second time this season and was absolutely pushed to the brink. A three-point deficit with three minutes remaining had the PMAC uneasy as the Razorbacks seemed to have caught fire. Eventually, Angel Reese, Alexis Morris, and Flau’jae Jonson stepped up and closed the game on an 8-2 run to secure the 79-76 win, keeping LSU perfect.
The Tigers are now 19-0 on the season and 7-0 in conference play.
“It was just a very good basketball game,” Mulkey said. “We grew up tonight. If we would have lost I would be saying the same thing. It feels better when you win, but that was just enjoyable tonight.
“We dominated the boards. They shot 58 percent in the second half and started making threes. It was a great game and a great student section tonight.”
The LSU defense struggled in the second half, allowing Arkansas to shoot 58.6 percent from the field and continue to chip away at the Tigers’ lead. The Razorbacks’ 76 points was the most allowed by LSU this season.
Reese took a while to get going, but had a monster second half, ending the game with 30 points and 19 rebounds. Even as a freshman, Johnson was Mulkey’s second best player in the win, scoring 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting while also sinking all four free throws in the final minute to ice the game.
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As usual, LSU dominated the glass, bringing down 51 total rebounds to Arkansas’ 26, with 22 being on the offensive end and leading to 23 second chance points.
“It was something we really needed, especially at home,” Reese said. “I just tried to step up and bring our team together. Some of our teammates haven’t been in moments like this, so I was trying to keep them poised and keep them calm.”
What’s next for LSU WBB
LSU hits the road to face Alabama on Monday night. The Tide are 4-2 in conference play and have won three straight, setting up another challenging game for Mulkey’s squad.
Thursday night gave the Tigers plenty of tape to improve on moving forward. A perfect record was on the line, and even in jeopardy, but playing a close game like this at home and winning is something this team needed. You get to see Morris hit some big shots late after having another tough game. Reese did what she does on the glass and in the paint. Johnson iced the game at the line with no hesitation.
It’s not just that LSU needed this game, but Mulkey needed to see this team respond – and they delivered.
