The LSU Tigers opened up the women’s basketball season on Tuesday night against Houston Christian University, and although walking away with a 1-0 start, there’s still room to improve to continue on the long road ahead this season.
The score on the board reflected a 108-55 Tigers win as the buzzer signaled the final seconds, but there were issues even before that starting in the first period. The Tigers were up against an opponent capable of challenging this star-studded lineup, and it showed when they had trouble scoring in the first period, going 11-23 with field goal attempts.
Compared to the exhibition matches LSU had, this number is not reflective of the talent. The pass game that LSU exhibited was well executed, but the Huskies were on top of the defense to slow down the scoring, threatening the Tiger lead that could be turned around at any moment.
The starting five showcased regular talent from Flau’Jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams, who both led the team in points through the first period and continued to shine all night. Another name that is not unfamiliar to Tiger fans is South Carolina transfer MiLaysia Fulwiley, who stepped up offensively to light the board up with points.
But just when it seemed like the Tigers were playing catch up all night in the second period, with 43 seconds left LSU led a six-point rally to end with a score of 53-27 going into halftime.
After a standout performance in two exhibition games, freshman ZaKiyah Johnson had no problem showing why she was a starter, tallying 11 points and 11 rebounds for her first double-double of her college career. When she wasn’t on the court, she was on the side showing support for all her teammates in the game.
“ZaKiyah is deceptively powerful in there, she’s hard to blockout, she’s gonna always gonna get those boards and she can leap,” said head coach Kim Mulkey.
In the second half of the Tigers showdown with the Huskies, it seemed like a new team came out to play a game of basketball. The dust came off the shoes, and this new team was right on the money with the post with blocking by Fulwiley and Johnson. The points started flowing, giving LSU a sizable lead against the Huskies.
“You think about what you’re going to try to do offensively and defensively, who needs to be in the game,” Mulkey said. “What non-conference does with eight newcomers, it allows you to see things when the lights come on.”
Not only did the offense come alive, the once subpar defense got on top of the guard to limit the Huskies as much as possible with a new sense of energy and aggression to take control of the ball.
Walking away with the win, there was a lot of good that LSU showed on the court with resilience and grit reflecting from the team. There are still some seams that need to be sewed up as the Tigers take on tougher opponents.
