When the Tigers need a spark, they look to No.3 Khayla Pointer, and she always comes through on both sides of the court.
LSU came into Sunday afternoon’s game having lost their last two games, both on the road. If there was any time the team needed a win, especially getting closer to the postseason, it was now.
Pointer rallied LSU back in the fourth quarter, scoring 19 of her 28 points in the final minutes of the game. “It’s no secret that, yeah, I was kind of struggling in the first half, and even in the third,” Pointer said in the postgame press conference, “but Coach [Mulkey] said at halftime, just stay the course, she said a lot of stuff to us at halftime, and that’s one thing that stuck with me in my head.”
Kentucky did a great job containing Pointer through the first three quarters, but she started to get in the paint, finish at the rim, and getting to the foul-line in the fourth. “This kid [Khayla Pointer] goes one for whatever the first half, but she gets about 20 points in the fourth quarter,” Coach Mulkey said, “you can’t stop shooting, you can’t stop defending.”
Alexis Morris also had an excellent game, adding 20 points and four assists. She kept the Tigers in the game in the first half, hitting a go-ahead three-pointer to make the score 18-15 with about two minutes left in the first quarter, and helped the Tigers extend their lead to six points from there. Morris scored 10 of her 20 points in the first quarter.
Despite Morris finding a rhythm in her shooting to start the game, Kentucky wouldn’t back down.
Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard emerged in the second quarter and helped the Wildcats chip away at LSU’s lead. Jada Walker also shot efficiently for Kentucky, and the pair gave the Wildcats a 34-33 lead heading into halftime. Howard finished the game with 23 points, and Walker finished with 21.
“You just played a Kentucky team that was picked fifth in this league that has the preseason pick for player of the year,” Coach Mulkey said, “probably the No.1 pick in the draft, we knew we had our hands full with her [Howard].
The Tigers came out from halftime strong. Alexis Morris and Jailin Cherry scored six unanswered points for the Tigers, and the crowd began to rally behind the Tigers. Whenever LSU scored, Kentucky would answer, and when LSU missed a shot, Kentucky took advantage. The Wildcats closed LSU’s lead throughout the third quarter, and an and-one by Jada Walker gave them a 53-48 lead at the end of the third.
Just as they had done all year, the Tigers stayed strong, put their heads down, and found their passion to win when it mattered most in that final quarter. Pointer started to play her game, shooting 6-7 from the field, and 6-6 from the free-throw line. “It’s the will to win, it keeps us motivated” Alexis Morris said after the game, “the game is too quick. It’s a fast game. Stay motivated to win.”
The Tigers were most definitely motivated Sunday afternoon at the PMAC. They are now back to their winning ways. Not only was it a huge win for the team, it was a huge win for Coach Mulkey. She has now won 650 games as a women’s college basketball coach, the fastest to reach this amount of games won ever. But it won’t be the last important win for Mulkey and the Tigers this season, as they look to finish the regular season strong and head into the postseason with great momentum.

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Chynna McClinton

LSU women’s basketball graduate student guard Khayla Pointer (3) rises up for a layup Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, during LSU’s 87-85 overtime win against Missouri in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on North Stadium Drive in Baton Rouge, La.