After taking down the Missouri Tigers the sixth-ranked LSU women’s basketball team returned to their home floor to host the 19th-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers. Kailyn Gilbert took over in the second-half and was a major factor for LSU as they defeated Tennessee 82-77 to improve to 25-1 and 10-1 in SEC play.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
It took about three minutes for LSU and Tennessee to get into the game’s rhythm. Flau’Jae Johnson and Sa’Myah Smith scored in the first two minutes to give the Tigers the early 4-0 lead.
Mikaylah Williams hit LSU’s first three-point to put her team up early before Tennessee took their first lead on a 9-2 run. Zee Spearman scored twice while Ruby Whitehorn and Jewel Spear got into the paint to put the Lady Volunteers up 11-9 midway into the first quarter.
The rest of the opening period was back-and-forth with three lead changes over the final five minutes. Williams hit a couple of jump shots and Mjracle Sheppard scored twice, including an and-one layup that tied the game at 18. Whitehorn scored seven points on three baskets over the final three minutes. By the end of the quarter, LSU held a narrow 22-20 lead.
The second quarter was also full of action. Johnson scored the first four points before Morrow converted on an and-one opportunity as Spearman fouled on the play. That bucket was the beginning of a 7-0 run that put the Tigers up by nine with six and a half minutes remaining before halftime.
Tennessee then started to light it up from behind the arc as Spear knocked down back-to-back from well behind the three-point line and cut LSU’s lead down to three. Jada Richard made the second three for Kim Mulkey’s team at the 2:46 mark and Williams hit another pull-up shot to go up by seven with two minutes to go. The only other shot that was made in that time was Spear, who made one more shot from downtown to cut it to a four-point game heading into the locker room.
LSU went into the half up 41-37. The Tigers went 0-4 on their final four possessions.
The first three minutes of the third quarter weren’t in favor of the Tigers as they missed their first six shots and turned the ball over twice. In that time, the Lady Volunteers went on a 7-0 run to go up by three. Williams ended the scoring drought for LSU but Talaysia Cooper’s free throws and layups kept Tennessee up 47-43 with less than six minutes to go in the quarter.
The final 5:38 was dominated by Kailyn Gilbert as she scored 10 straight points for LSU, twice from three-point range, a mid-range jumper, and a couple from the charity stripe to put her team up by four.
Cooper continued to score for the Lady Vols by drawing a couple more fouls on Tiger players and getting into the paint to cut it to a two-point game. Gilbert however scored on an and-one and knocked down a midrange jumper to complete her impressive 15-point third quarter.
Richard hit a pull-up to put the Tigers up by six before Spear made a free throw with three seconds to go in the period. Williams looked to have made a buzzer-beating three but was waved off after review, showing the ball didn’t leave her hands before the clock hit zero. LSU was still up 62-57 heading into the fourth.
Tennessee began the final quarter on a 9-3 run to go up one. Four Lady Volunteer players scored on that run with Tess Darby making her first shot. The only made shot for the Tigers was a three by Gilbert.
After that, Tennessee went on a three-minute scoring drought with LSU going on an 8-0 run. Whitehorn’s layup ended the drought for the Vols and was their only bucket until the 2:42 mark when Cooper picked Gilbert’s pockets and went coast-to-coast for the transition bucket.
Morrow’s and-one opportunity was good and put LSU up by eight before Tennessee went on a 6-0 run. With two minutes to go, Whitehorn scored twice in the paint and knocked down a couple of free throws to make it a two-point game with 23 seconds to go.
Gilbert and Morrow made all four free throws late to help secure the 82-77 win for LSU, giving them their 25th win of the season. Tennessee fell to 17-6 in the loss.
BIG NUMBER: 23
Aneesah Morrow recorded her 23rd double-double of the season in 26 games played. Morrow finished Sunday’s game with 14 points and 14 rebounds with five offensive boards in the win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kailyn Gilbert
Heading into halftime, Gilbert scored just two points as the Tigers were up by four. Through the final 16 minutes, the junior guard from Tampa, Florida went off, scoring 21 points with 15 coming in the final 5:38 of the third quarter. In her 23-point performance off the bench, Gilbert was 7-15 from the floor, 3-4 from three-point range, and 6-7 from the free throw line as LSU improved to 25-1 and 10-1 in conference play with the 82-77 win over Tennessee on Sunday.
UP NEXT: The LSU women’s basketball team will travel to Austin to take on the number-four-ranked Texas Longhorns. Tipoff in the Moody Center is set for 2:00 on Sunday, February 16th and the action can be heard on Mustang 107.1.
