The LSU women’s basketball team continued to move fast in its third game of the regular season.
The team moved to 3-0 on the season with a 107-34 win over Western Carolina Sunday afternoon. This matchup is the third game in a row in which the team scored over 100 points in the game, and the Tigers have scored over 100 points in four of their last five games with exhibition games included.
Angel Reese stayed dominant in the paint Sunday afternoon, recording her third double-double performance in a row. Against Western Carolina, she totaled 17 points and 15 rebounds, along with two assists.
Flau’jae Johnson also found her stride in Sunday’s matchup, as she scored 18 points, 10 of which came from the free throw line. She also hit two three-pointers, along with four rebounds. The true freshman already seems to have found her rhythm in the offense, as her performance Sunday marked her third game in a row with double-digit points.
“It’s everything you bring to the floor in a game,” Mulkey said of Johnson. “It’s developing a freshman’s all-around game and make her understand how big that is.”
The team was tested at the foul line against Western Carolina, as they found themselves shooting free throws 41 times throughout the game, making 30 of the 41 attempts. Of the 41 attempts, Johnson attempted 12 of them. Last-Tear Poa and Jasmine Carson also combined for another 12. Poa finished the game with eight points with four rebounds and three assists, and Carson finished with 11 points.
Alexis Morris, Kateri Poole and Alisa Williams all also made a presence Sunday afternoon. Morris scored eight points along with six assists, Poole scored nine points, and Williams scored 10 points along with seven rebounds. Emily Ward also added eight points.
For Western Carolina, Kehind Obasuyi led the team with 10 points along with 4 rebounds.
Against Western Carolina, LSU accomplished two things that they will continue to evaluate and get better at.
With how many times the Tigers found themselves at the foul line, the repetition of shooting from the free-throw line can only make them better. In Sunday’s game, the team shot 73% from the foul line. In their season opener against Bellarmine, the Tigers found themselves at the foul line 57 times, making 44 shots, a 77% completion percentage. With the repetition they’ve had, they hope to be able to almost guarantee those points by the time SEC play starts.
“The good thing about right now is that we’re building confidence,” Mulkey said. “You’re making mistakes in a game where it can be corrected for when the SEC does roll around.”
Mulkey was also able to evaluate the depth of the team once again. Before the final two minutes of the first half, ten players recorded stats for the team. Of those 10 players, nine scored points.
“I’m blessed to have depth,” Mulkey said. “Depth is what we did not have last year, but we have depth this year.”
Having depth will certainly help once SEC play begins. Conference games will be games that the team needs to play their best for the whole game and having fresh bodies to rotate in and out will help them stay in close games.
The Tigers continue to look impressive and are slowly finding their identity and the type of team they’ll be once conference play begins. They take the court for their next matchup at the PMAC Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. against Houston Christian.
