The No. 7 LSU women’s basketball team cruised in its 108-55 win over Missouri on Sunday afternoon at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. (Tiger Rag Photo by Michael Bacigalupi)
By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
The No. 7 LSU women’s basketball team grabbed an NCAA-record 72 rebounds in its 108-55 win over Missouri on Sunday afternoon at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU (24-4, 10-4 Southeastern Conference) shot 46.9 percent (38-of-81) while holding Missouri (16-13, 4-10 SEC) to just 24.2 percent from the field (16-of-66).
For the second straight game, junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley led the way for LSU. She recorded her first career double-double, scoring 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting (6-of-9 3-PT) while grabbing 11 rebounds. She also dished out four assists, blocked three shots and had two steals.
Six more Tigers recorded at least 10 or more points in the win, including freshman forward ZaKiyah Johnson (17), senior guard Flau’jae Johnson (16), sophomore forward Kate Koval (13), junior guard Mikaylah Williams (12), freshman guard Bella Hines (11) and sophomore guard Jada Richard (10).
Freshman forward Grace Knox did not play in the win over Missouri.
Fulwiley knocked down her sixth three pointer to give LSU a 94-41 lead with just over five minutes to go in the game. The Tigers hit 100 points when senior forward Amiya Joyner knocked down a free throw with 4:03 remaining. LSU outscored Missouri 23-18 in the fourth quarter.
LSU’s lead continued to grow in the third quarter. Fulwiley hit down her third triple of the night to give LSU a 60-25 lead with 8:20 remaining in the period. ZaKiyah Johnson scored six points on 3-of-3 shooting in the first six minutes of the quarter to help LSU’s lead grow to 39 points. LSU led Missouri 85-37 after three quarters of play. The Tigers shot a steaming 57.9 percent from the field (11-of-19) in the period.
Fulwiley drained a corner three-point shot to open the second quarter, giving LSU the 26-14 lead. Richard knocked down her second triple of the night to extend LSU’s lead to 15 points with 7:57 to go before the half. And the Bayou Bengals’ lead continued to increase. Flau’jae Johnson caught fire shortly after, scoring 11 points in the last five minutes of the second quarter. LSU went into the break with a commanding 54-22 lead. The Tigers shot 10-of-17 from the field in the period.
Missouri opened up the scoring on Sunday when it knocked down a deep three-point shot from the top of the key. A couple minutes later, Missouri made a midrange jumper to extend its lead to 7-2 with 7:40 to go. Richard knocked down a contested three to tie the game at 9-9 with 4:42 left in the quarter. LSU finished the quarter off on a 14-5 run to carry a 23-14 lead into the second quarter. Williams led scoring in the quarter with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting.
LSU will have the opportunity to clinch a top-four seed in the SEC Tournament with a win against No. 21 Tennessee (16-10, 8-6 SEC) on Thursday in Baton Rouge. Tipoff is at 5 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN.