Throughout the second half of the game, Ole Miss made mistakes, and LSU took advantage of that as the Purple and Gold pulled a tough win out on the road.
LSU shot 17-28 from the foul line, and they held Ole Miss, who averages 10.6 steals per game, the most in the SEC, to just four this game. When the Rebels tried to overcompensate and got in foul trouble, the Tigers used their time at the foul line as opportunities to extend their lead.
Faustine Aifuwa led the charge for the Tigers with a double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.
”It is my understanding that she’s in the best shape of her life…She’s an older senior that doesn’t get rattled,” Mulkey said of Aifuwa’s presence on the team. “I understand that people write about our guards, as they should, but those guards are recipients of a lot of good things that our bigs bring.”
Aifuwa’s performance was especially substantial because one of LSU’s keys to victory was to shut Ole Miss’ star forward, Shakira Austin, down. Along with Autumn Newby, the pair of LSU bigs were able to do that, leaving Austin scoreless after the first quarter, and holding her to two points after the first half.
“Obviously Austin was a big part of our scouting report,” Coach Mulkey said following the win over Ole Miss. “Every time she touched the ball, I wanted it to be in certain spots on the floor to make it difficult for her, and I thought we did as good of a job as we can possibly do on her.”
Khayla Pointer and Alexis Morris also made an impact for LSU; Pointer had a triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and Alexis Morris added 17 points along with six rebounds. Pointer’s triple-double is the second of the season and of her career, adding even more to her legacy as an LSU Tiger.
While Shakira Austin was contained for the majority of the game, she found her groove in the second half. She ended the game with 11 points and eight rebounds. Austin has led the Rebels all season long, but tonight Angel Baker made the most noise on offense, with 20 points off the bench. Lashonda Monk added 10 points and five rebounds for Ole Miss.
In addition to containing Austin, the Tigers were able to keep Ole Miss from rebounding their own shots and they took care of the ball on offense.
“We outrebounded them, and really had more offensive boards,” Coach Mulkey said. “I thought we did a good job listening to scouting report defensively.”
This all led to a huge road win for LSU, after not winning a game on the road since their matchup at Auburn just under a month ago.
As expected, the team’s endurance was tested against the Rebels. The Tigers scored eight unanswered points to open the game, but Ole Miss answered with a seven unanswered point streak. LSU began to separate themselves after ending the first quarter with a 14-9 lead. After Faustine Aifuwa led LSU to a 21-11 lead in the second quarter, Ole Miss chipped away and cut the Tigers’ lead to 4 going into halftime. The Rebels tied the game at 27 to open up the second half, but Aifuwa and Khayla Pointer gave the LSU offense a tempo and ended the third quarter with a 51-44 lead.
LSU led by as much as 12 points in the fourth quarter, their largest lead of the game, but Ole Miss continued to claw back and cut the Tigers’ lead to three with 30 seconds left in the game. LSU proved not only their ability to win on the road, but that they can keep their foot on the gas all four quarters.
The Tigers got a good taste against Ole Miss for what to expect going forward in conference play and in the postseason. LSU improves to 7-3 in SEC conference play and 19-4 overall on the season. The Tigers return to Baton Rouge Thursday and will be tested once again against 17th-ranked Georgia. That game will be at the PMAC, tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. CT, and it will be televised on the SEC Network.
