Angel Reese may not have envisioned her career heading to Louisiana, but what may have seemed even more unlikely to her is finding herself back in Baltimore in an LSU uniform.
What may have been unexpected was reality on Wednesday night. In her hometown of Baltimore, Reese and her Tigers took care of business against Coppin State with a 80-48 win in front of a sold out crowd.
“Baltimore has meant everything to me,” Reese said. “I’m just so happy to be in the place that I’m in.”
Reese suiting up with LSU in Baltimore as a part of the Kay Yow “Play4Kay” Cancer Fund may seem like an early Christmas present to her, but she made the most of the opportunity.
“Angel has come back to Baltimore and done a lot of great things,” Reese said. “It means a great deal to her. And because it means a great deal to her, it means a great deal to us.”
She finished with 26 points and six rebounds, and shot four for six from the foul line. Reese was also a defensive threat, as she came away with five steals.
Flau’jae Johnson shot efficiently as well alongside Reese. The sophomore guard scored 18 points, including two made three-pointers.
Aneesah Morrow kept her presence in the paint alive, as she finished with her seventh double-double in a row with 13 points along with 13 rebounds, four steals and three of the team’s four blocks.
As Hailey Van Lith remains out with planter fasciitis, Last-Tear Poa stepped up as a true point guard. She facilitated the offense effectively and finished with eight assists along with five points.
However, for the second game in a row, Mikaylah Williams couldn’t consistently find her shot, despite scoring 14 points on Sunday against Northwestern State, which all came in the second half. Against Coppin State, Williams finished with five points and seven rebounds on the night.
“[We’re] just telling her, ’your game is not always going to be valued on the points you score,'” Mulkey said.
Tiffany Hammond led Coppin State with a career-high of 21 points, including seven made three-pointers. Laila Lawrence also recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
“We did what we needed to do to get some excitement to Baltimore,” Coppin State head coach Jermaine Woods said. “They saw some good basketball from Coppin State University. That was the goal.”
LSU has now won 12 games in a row. While the competition is not what they’ll see in Southeastern Conference play, that’s what this time is for. During this time, the team cherishes every minute they can become closer before conference play.
The Tigers will return to Baton Rouge after the Christmas holiday to wrap up their non-conference schedule against Jacksonville on Thursday, Dec. 30. That matchup will tip-off at 7 p.m. C.T. from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and will be televised on SEC Network-plus.
