LSU women’s basketball took the court on Thursday night in its SEC opener, in a fight to the end with the Kentucky Wildcats, but walked away defeated 80-78.
“We have five games here that are going to be extremely tough here, we know that, and yes, we’ve got to rebound and get in the film room, and we’ve got to get better,” head coach Kim Mulkey said.
The Tigers drew blood first and got an early lead of 15 points during the first period, but that quickly changed when the Wildcats came back to eventually take the lead. So far this season, Kentucky has had the strongest defense in the SEC, only allowing 50 points per game.
As the clock continued to tick, trips to the free-throw line became a constant pattern from both sides, and the noise roared throughout the PMAC with nearly every seat packed for the show. Almost every rebound attempt was quickly nabbed from the Tigers with the aggressive defense ready to seize every opportunity at the glass.
With a game of cat and mouse over the lead, the clock hit zero, and the Tigers and Wildcats ended the first half tied. LSU trailed for only about five minutes, and those were foreign numbers to the Tigers, who had spent the first 14 games in the lead.
Each player tinkering on the edge of being fouled out, the plays didn’t stop. Making a standout performance under the high intensity was junior Mikaylah Williams, striking with 26 points, eight defensive rebounds and five assists.
Going into the second half, there was an energy on the court almost more intense than the first half, with the Tigers holding the lead to break the 50 points that the Wildcats had been holding opponents to thus far in the season.
With Kentucky being 16-for-36 in free-throw attempts, it seemed like with every shot made, the end would come down to which team was able to get the little things right. With this game moving at such a high speed, small mistakes from the Tigers cost them some shots that should have been made.
In free throws, LSU was much more consistent at the line.
“They missed enough free throws to keep us in the game, and we just got to give them credit,” Mulkey said.
A standout name for the Tigers in the back half was transfer senior Amiya Joyner. Although she didn’t have the most points on the board, she was able to be exactly in the right spot to assist with rebounds and follow through with points to help keep the narrow lead LSU held into the final minutes.
With the final five minutes left of the fourth period, LSU led by a mere six points, and the crowd had broken a new decibel level, with every point and every block becoming louder than the last.
But it wasn’t without a last-ditch effort from the Wildcats to make a comeback: two successful free throws and one extra successful shot, Kentucky led by two in the final 1:15. If LSU wants to continue down the road to Arizona, defensive rebounds can’t be sacrificed.
“I mean, the best teacher is experienced,” Williams said. “We have this game on our belt. We know what it takes to eventually come out on top, and then we need to rebound and play defense.”
Less than a minute remained when Williams made three free throws to put the Tigers leading by a single point with seconds to spare. Kentucky’s Tonie Morgan scored the final shot to give Kentucky the win in the final half-second.
A loss for the Tigers in their SEC opener is not a promising look, with only four offensive rebounds against the 17 Kentucky put on the board.
This game will be a learning point for the Tigers as the season continues and the cobwebs get dusted off on the path to a national championship. The Tigers will be back in the PMAC on Jan. 11, against the University of Texas Longhorns at 2 p.m.
