Coming off their second loss of the season to the Texas Longhorns, LSU Women’s Basketball was looking to bounce back against Georgia. They accomplished that goal Thursday night with a 79-63 victory over the Bulldogs.

Even with senior forward Aneesah Morrow sitting out, the Tigers managed to snag 42 total rebounds. Most of those were courtesy of Sa’Myah Smith and Jersey Wolfenbarger, who both stepped up in a big way when they were needed.

Morrow had never missed a single game in her college career before Thursday night, but Smith and Wolfenbarger were making up for her absence from the jump. Smith led the team with six rebounds in the first quarter alone, and Head Coach Kim Mulkey says her success tonight came from her aggressiveness on the court.

“[She was] playing a little bit more physical,” Mulkey said. “Not just that she all of a sudden is gonna be a banger, but she’s moving her hands quicker, she’s pushing a little bit earlier, she;s trying to get around and pull the chair and deflect things.”

Wolfenbarger tallied 16 points on the night, her second highest this season, and 12 rebounds, which Coach Mulkey says is thanks to her ability to stay on top of people in the paint.

“She has some foot speed and lateral quickness to get by people and defend, and again she’s not going to bang with you, but she got in position to get rebounds.” Mulkey said.

Smith and Wolfenbarger’s performances tonight is something Mulkey hopes they can replicate consistently heading into their final regular season games.

“So for these two guys to have double-doubles in her absence has to build their confidence which… we’re fixin’ to play a team that’s just as tall as these two,” Mulkey said. “And so maybe, them playing tonight will give them that confidence when we play against Kentucky.”

Looking ahead, Coach Mulkey says Morrow’s injury is fairly minor, so hopefully for LSU she will be back this season. However, it must give Mulkey and company some peace of mind to know they have players like Smith and Wolfenbarger who can handle bigger roles, especially heading into the postseason stretch.

The Tigers will hit the road to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m.