Entering the PMAC, fans were greeted with thousands of pink T-shirts in tribute to the “Play4Kay” game honoring former North Carolina State head coach, Sandra Kay Yow.
With both teams rocking their pink and white jerseys, it was LSU women’s basketball who came out victorious, defeating Arkansas 92-70.
The Tigers looked like they were sleepwalking on both ends of the court.
Arkansas got off to a hot start, making its first five shots and getting out to a 15-8 lead, which caused head coach Kim Mulkey to bring in a whole new lineup, replacing all five starters.
With some more energy and effort, the bench did exactly what they were supposed to do and helped them climb back.
When asked about what she wanted to see from the bench unit, she gave a simple answer.
“Something better than what I saw with the five that were on the court,” Mulkey said. “Anything. Effort, make a layup, have some excitement about you. Let’s go. And they did.”
While the Tigers took a lead at the end of the half, it was an ugly showing for LSU, as even wide-open fast-break layups were a challenge.
The Tigers as a whole shot 7-for-22 (31.8%) in the first half on layups alone. They struggled to score at the rim, which resulted in them shooting 35.4% as a team.
LSU looked lost offensively, turning the ball over and finding its only main success on inbound plays. One defense: the rotations were late, as the Razorbacks got multiple open looks in the first quarter, putting them into that early but manageable deficit.
The second half gave us what seemed to be a whole different team. LSU started the third quarter on an 11-0 run, by forcing turnovers, blocking shots and turning defense into offense.
The Tigers’ entire defensive showing got them back into the game. Mulkey even decided to break out the full-court press, which forced a few turnovers against Arkansas in the backcourt.
LSU forced seven turnovers in the third quarter after forcing just eight in the entire first half. The Tigers outscored Arkansas 33-17 in the third quarter, as the Razorbacks only shot 7-for-20 (35%) and finally got some breathing room entering the fourth.
There wasn’t a particular dominant performance from anyone on LSU as six players got to double digits, but one of its veterans got things going in the second half.
Flau’jae Johnson didn’t score a single point in the first half, going 0-for-4 from the field, but found her rhythm in the third, scoring 11 of her 17 points, while shooting 4-for-5 (80%) from the field.
“It’s big for Flau’jae because you’re a senior,” Mulkey said. “She’s gotten in foul trouble, so it’s big to go out there and not pick up your third real quick and just play a little harder, play a little more aggressive, have a sense of urgency, because, you know, Flau’jae has done so many wonderful things for this program.”
Mikaylah Williams had a quiet but consistent offensive performance, scoring 17 points on 8-for-15 (53.3%) shooting. Jada Richard had 12, Zakiyah Johnson added 12 and Grace Knox did her thing down low, also scoring 12 points
However, the one player who brought it on both ends of the court was no other than Kate Koval off the bench.
Koval finished the game with 12 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and three steals, proving why she was one of Mulkey’s highly targeted prospects coming out of the transfer portal.
She dominated the paint, grabbing every rebound in her vicinity, abusing mismatches down low and having a “defensive player of the game” type of performance, tallying blocks and steals.
“She has a calming effect for our team,” Mulkey said. “Whether she’s having double-doubles or scoring the ball or whatever, I think Kate is doing extremely well and is so valuable to our team.”
