It was senior night at the PMAC for the LSU women’s basketball team and the atmosphere was everything the seniors deserve to go out on and more. The fans all wore gold in support of the team, and the fans were engaged from start to finish. Seeing all this, it was nothing but bittersweet for the seniors.
“The emotions really started, for what I can see after the game, it’s like you’re tired, you gave it everything you had,” Head Coach Kim Mulkey said following the win over Alabama. “The fans stayed, the video’s going, your seniors take a lap around the court, and that’s when the tears started flowing.”
There was no better night for Khayla Pointer to get back in her groove. The graduate senior from Marietta, Georgia led the Tigers with 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a 58-50 win over Alabama.
“You get back out there and you have muscle memory with my shots and stuff like that, it was just a new game for me,” Pointer said following the win, “I know I can lock in the next day and have a completely different game, and that’s just what I tried to do today.”
Pointer was contained Sunday against Florida with seven points and seven rebounds, but in her last regular season home game, she shined as she has all season. The Tigers saw another great game from their bigs; Faustine Aifuwa scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Autumn Newby scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds. Jailin Cherry added six points and six rebounds.
However, LSU was forced to work without one of their most effective players, Alexis Morris, after she left them game due to injury. “I’m sure they have to do an MRI tomorrow, I asked and they said the general thing is that she got rolled on,” Coach Mulkey said. “She’s walking around on crutches…I don’t see any swelling or anything like that, so let’s just hope for the best.”
As expected, Alabama shot efficiently from three with 11 threes made in the game. Brittany Davis led the Tide with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Megan Barber scored 16 points, and Hannah Barber added 11.
The Tigers used the same scheme early on that worked for them against Florida; dominate the paint and score points near the rim. Aifuwa came through in the paint for LSU, scoring six points and grabbing three rebounds in the opening quarter.
Despite being without Alexis Morris, the Tigers didn’t skip a beat, as they went on an 8-0 run to start the game. Alabama hit two late threes in the final two minutes, but LSU still had a 16-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“I thought they handled it [Alexis Morris’ injury] beautifully,” Coach Mulkey said, “you have to have the mentally ‘next man up,’ and Ryann [Payne] went in there and unfortunately she broke her nose at practice yesterday, but she just battled and did as much as she could possibly do.”
The offense continued to roll for LSU into the second quarter. Cherry was hitting her mid-range jumper and Pointer began to find her rhythm. The pair helped the Tigers grab their largest lead of the first half at 22-10. Hannah Gusters kept control of the paint with four points. The Tigers went into halftime with a 29-17 lead.
Alabama started to execute from beyond the arc to start the second half. The Crimson Tide scored 18 points from three in the third quarter; Brittany Davis, Hannah Barber and Megan Abrams each hit two shots from the perimeter. Abrams scored nine points in the third quarter.
“Alabama did exactly what we said they’d do,” Coach Mulkey said. “They’re going to score all their points from outside the three.” The Crimson Tide came back to within four points of LSU at 42-38, but Pointer kept the Tigers in the game, as she hit two three pointers of her own, and she also scored nine points in the third quarter.
Megan Abrams brought Alabama to within three points at the start of the fourth quarter with another three pointer, but Pointer helped put a stop to its momentum, and the Tigers extended their lead back to 11 points with 3:27 left in the game. Pointer led LSU the rest of the way, and the Tigers were able to secure a 58-50 win on senior night.
The win over Alabama was of course a great win for the team, but it was a great way for the seniors to go out at the PMAC. However, the seniors still remain in the moment, and the fact that it was their last regular season home game at the PMAC still doesn’t feel real.
“Honestly it still hasn’t hit me yet,” Aifuwa said. “Just going out there and playing in front of the fans for the last time, playing in front of my family, it felt great.”
This whole season has felt great for the seniors, and the entire team. They look to end their regular season with a win on Sunday at Tennessee. That game will tip-off at 1 p.m. C.T., and it will be aired live on ESPN2.
From left to right: LSU women’s basketball fifth year senior forward and guard Awa Trasi (32), graduate student forward Autumn Newby (0), graduate student guard Jailin Cherry (1), graduate student guard Khayla Pointer (3), and graduate student center Faustine Aifuwa (24) pose for a photo Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, during the halftime of LSU’s Senior Night 58-50 win against Alabama in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on North Stadium Drive in Baton Rouge, La.
