Conference tournaments often don’t mean much for power conference teams who are already projected to make the NCAA Tournament. No one would’ve come to that conclusion after watching LSU and Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament semifinals, though.
The Tigers beat the Rebels 75-67 to advance to the SEC Championship game, but it took a full 40-minute effort to get past upset-minded Ole Miss.
The game was back-and-forth most of the way, but LSU found its extra motivation after a scary situation in the fourth quarter. LSU guard Last-Tear Poa left the game on a stretcher after hitting her head on the floor.
The injury happened with 5:44 remaining in the game, stopping play for several minutes. Poa initially tried to walk off the court with the help of LSU’s training staff, but went back to the ground before being stretchered off.
The Tigers had a six-point lead at that point, but after two possessions of trading baskets, LSU started to pull away.
Angel Reese scored a layup that was followed by what many described as the moment of the game.
After an offensive rebound was tapped back to her, Flau’jae Johnson made a 3-pointer to put LSU up by eight with 3:37 to go. As she ran back on defense she thumped her chest and yelled “For Poa!” to the crowd, a tribute to her injured teammate.
The shot was part of a huge night for Johnson, who finished with 21 points, making three 3-pointers. She had seven points in the fourth quarter, with five of the seven coming after Poa’s injury.
Johnson wasn’t LSU’s only prominent scorer. Reese tied the game-high with 21 points of her own to go with 17 rebounds. Aneesah Morrow and Hailey Van Lith were the other two Tigers in double figures, each finishing with 12 points.
The win sets up a rematch between LSU and South Carolina with the SEC title on the line. South Carolina beat LSU at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center 76-70 the first time the two teams met.
South Carolina advanced to the championship game in dramatic fashion, beating Tennessee with a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Kamilla Cardoso made the game-winner, which was also the first made 3-pointer of her career.
The highly anticipated rematch is set for 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon, and will be streaming live on ESPN.
