Mikaylah Williams just had to find her shot.
She knocked down three straight 3-pointers to start the second quarter, giving LSU its first double-digit lead of the game and helping the Tigers secure a 91-64 win over Seton Hall.
“When we were in the huddle, we said, ‘We need a spark, we need a spark,’” Williams said.
Williams finished with six makes from beyond the arc, boosting her way to a 22-point performance.
Williams helped set the tone for LSU’s all-around successful night in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Connecticut Tuesday night.
“She wants to be really good. She works hard, she works on her game,” Kim Mulkey said. “She’s a confident player.”
Along with her 22 points, she totaled five rebounds and five assists. Williams ignited the frequent ball movement to the paint, and Aneesah Morrow took advantage.
Morrow finished with 24 points and 19 rebounds, shooting 8-of-13 from the field and 6-of-8 from the foul line. She also totaled three steals, contributing to Seton Hall’s 15 turnovers as a team.
“She’s a walking double-double,” Mulkey said. “She’s just a joy to coach because that’s how she is every day in practice… she just gets rebound after rebound after rebound.”
But just as Williams provided a spark for LSU to move the ball around, play quickly and shoot efficiently, Morrow provided a spark for LSU to play aggressively in the paint and secure rebounds on defense.
“It’s all that I know. I love to come in and become 1% better than what I was,” Morrow said. “I want to set a standard for not only myself, but also my teammates.”
The Tigers and Seton Hall each had 41 rebounds as a team, and of LSU’s 41 rebounds, 30 were on the defensive side of the ball.
Flau’jae Johnson grabbed five of those rebounds, finishing with 17 points. Johnson had to work for her points, as she was held to just 1-of-4 from three. She shot 8-of-18 from the field.
Kailyn Gilbert added 14 points, shooting 5-of-7 from the field.
As Williams set the tone for LSU’s ball movement, and Morrow set the tone for the Tigers’ aggressiveness in the paint, it was a team effort to limit turnovers.
Against Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday, the Tigers turned the ball over 21 times. They had 13 turnovers on Tuesday.
The Tigers play quick; they have since Kim Mulkey took the head coaching job at LSU. But the quick pace of play leads to turnovers at times.
Tuesday night was a prime example of playing quick and taking care of the basketball in unison.
But the quickness also showed how it can throw opposing teams off-balance, especially teams that look to slow the game down and run the shot clock down.
“I thought our ability to score quickly against the press kept them from pressing as much,” Mulkey said.
Seton Hall looked to play that way. LSU’s intensity on defense, however, forced the Pirates to take bad shots. The Tigers held Seton Hall to 22-of-71 (31%) shooting from the field, and 8-of-34 (23.5%) from three.
Faith Masonius led Seton Hall with 29 points on the night, and Jada Eads was right behind with 20. The two combined for seven 3-pointers.
After an all-around impressive performance, where do the Tigers go from here?
Well, it all boils down to consistency. LSU primarily has to keep its intensity on defense and force teams to take bad shots. While Morrow finished with 19 rebounds, the Tigers’ guards had a frequent presence under the basket to provide quick transitions.
Given LSU’s lack of depth in the paint, the guards contributing to the defense at the basket was encouraging.
Jersey Wolfenbarger was held to minimal minutes of play with two fouls early in the first half and finished the game with four. Sa’Myah Smith also had three fouls but played 23 minutes to give LSU additional height under the basket.
The Tigers also have to keep moving the ball effectively around the perimeter and use the guard depth to their advantage.
Mulkey and her guards frequently say that any of the team’s guards are capable of having a successful night scoring. Throughout the season, that’s proven to be true.
“I’ve got four or five of them that can score the ball,” Mulkey said. “There’s enough shots to go around for all of them.”
Tuesday night was Williams’ night, but it’s reasonable to say that Johnson or Gilbert could have the hot hand the next time LSU takes the floor. Spreading the ball around gives the Tigers the opportunity to find the spark they’d need to either gain momentum, or keep it.
Williams was LSU’s brightest spark on Tuesday night, but on Thursday night in Chicago, the Tigers will find out who it will be when they take the floor against the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Given that Chicago is her hometown, Morrow would love for it to be her. But coming away with a win is all that matters for her when it’s all said and done.
