LSU Women’s Basketball put on an absolute clinic as the team returned home to the PMAC and completed a dominant performance against the NC Central Eagles, winning by a ridiculous final score of 131-44.
After securing this victory, LSU Women’s Basketball Head Coach Kim Mulkey made history as she became the fastest coach – men’s or women’s – to reach 100 career wins in LSU program history.
In her fourth season as the Tigers’ head coach, Mulkey accomplished this feat in her 114th game. Sue Gunter was the previous record holder for being the quickest to reach 100 wins at LSU (needing 129 games to do so).
However, when reflecting on what this accomplishment entails, Mulkey quickly recognized how much of this history falls on the shoulders of her previous and current players.
“Throughout my career, I’ve been blessed to coach players [who] believe in our system, believe in what we do, and coming to LSU is not any different than when I was at Baylor for 20-plus years,” Mulkey said. “Kids have to believe in you, they have to let you coach them and all those wins belong to them.”
When taking a glance at the stat sheet, there were nine Tigers that scored in the double figures.
Leading the pack, in her third season in the purple and gold, junior guard Flau’Jae Johnson finished with a game-high 22 points and continues to solidify herself as one of the best women’s college basketball players in the nation.
On the defensive side of the ball, Johnson managed to finish with four blocks of her own.
Aneesah Morrow notched her seventh consecutive double-double, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds to go alongside with three assists and three steals.
With such a dominant beginning to her senior year campaign, Morrow continues to turn heads and has started making a case for being one of the most talented women’s college basketball players this season.
However, in this contest against the NC Central Eagles, the Tigers’ relentless defense was firing on all cylinders from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer.
The Tigers managed to force 33 turnovers that would result in 53 points-off-turnovers.
Leading this defensive intensity, the LSU faithful was able to watch for the first time this season as Mississippi State transfer guard Mjracle Sheppard took the court.
Since the beginning of this season, Sheppard has been rehabilitating a stress fracture that she suffered before the team’s first exhibition game and has remained under close observation from the coaching and medical staff.
With returning to the court, Sheppard wants to continue to lead by example and illustrate to those watching her play just the kind of individual she is on and off the court.
“It’s exciting and, honestly, just a blessing to be out here and be able to be someone that [fans] look up to,” Sheppard said.
Sheppard finished with 10 points and tied her career high with seven steals.
By paying close attention to increasing the defensive intensity and remaining dedicated to delivering enormous amounts of pressure, the Tigers kept the NC Central Eagles scoreless throughout the second quarter.
Being regarded as the best defensive player on the roster, Sheppard doesn’t take this praise for granted.
“I was always taught that defense wins championships,” Sheppard said. “Defense is just fun [for] me and my whole deal is to make it fun for everybody [else]. It’s just a team effort, it’s your willingness, it’s your determination to want to get a stop on defense.”
While discussing major contributions from the Tigers’ bench, Arkansas transfer forward Jersey Wolfenbarger continues to make her presence known in her limited minutes of playing time.
Wolfenbarger, who has adopted the nickname “WOOO” by fans which echoes across the PMAC after every bucket she makes, finished with an impressive 10 points and seven rebounds.
And the improvements she continues to make to her game are not going unnoticed.
“I’m impressed with Jersey’s improvements since I’ve had her on the floor,” Mulkey said. “Just look at [her] body. She has the body, both long and lean, to block shots and we’ll make her more physical. ”
Serving as a spark plug of energy off the bench, the former Razorback is making the most out of the limited opportunities that have been offered to her on the court.
“You don’t have to be the strongest to be the most effective,” Mulkey said. “She’s just really, really progressing at a fast pace and we’re grateful she’s here at LSU.”
Kaylin Gilbert, a junior transfer guard from the University of Arizona, finished with a sneaky 19 points to go along with four steals on the defensive side of the court.
Senior guard Last-Tear Poa, one of the biggest fan favorites on the roster, was extremely aggressive on the offensive side of the ball and drove toward the basket on multiple occasions. Poa would finish the game with the same number of free throws made as the entirety of NC Central’s roster (10 made FTs).
Sophomore forward Sa’Myah Smith finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, but would leave the game early after having an injury scare in the second half.
Last year, Smith experienced a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus that abruptly ended her season only seven games into it.
No. 7 LSU Women’s Basketball’s next matchup will be against the Stanford Cardinal on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 8:00 p.m. CST in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
