The way a team responds to adversity can say a lot, and what better opportunity than going on the road against a top-four team in the conference?
On Thursday night, the Magnolia Bowl was taken to the hardwood as No. 7 LSU went on the road to face off against the No. 17 Ole Miss Rebels, where the Tigers bounced back, winning 78-70, following their loss to South Carolina.
There were big postseason implications on the line as LSU and Ole Miss were tied in the SEC standings for the fourth seed, earning a double-bye for the conference tournament.
Despite the Tigers getting out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter, it quickly evaporated with a mixture of turnovers, poorly executed possessions and Ole Miss’ Cotie McMahon plaguing LSU.
The Tigers committed 11 turnovers as a team, despite shooting 15-for-27 (55.6%) from the field. McMahon got out to a hot start, scoring 18 of her 25 points in the first half, giving the LSU defense problems.
“She’s just so explosive and so powerful, and with that, she just is so quick,” head coach Kim Mulkey said. “I just think we all threw different people at her. Just giving her different bodies to look at and understand you’re not going to guard her one-on-one.”
Things didn’t get better for LSU as guard Flau’jae Johnson rolled her left ankle in the first quarter and even went to the locker room to get evaluated. Before leaving the game, Johnson started 3-for-3 and scored nine points, looking like another impactful performance.
She was able to return to the game, but when she was out, the offense clearly looked out of place. Multiple possessions without structure lead to turnovers and late shots in the shot clock, allowing the Rebels to outscore them in the second quarter 22-11.
The momentum continued in Ole Miss’s favor with the Rebels leading by as much as 13 to start the second half following a Grace Knox foul and technical foul after she taunted McMahon.
However, LSU responded and weathered the storm with the help of MiLaysia Fulwiley.
“I thought we were getting a lot of transition baskets,” Mulkey said. “It starts with MiLaysia. She’s just so quick, and she makes everybody else play quicker, and we just got a lot of transition.”
Before entering this game, the last time Fulwiley scored over 10 points in a game was against Florida on Jan. 26. She surpassed that total in the third quarter alone, scoring 12 points.
In recent performances, she’s been struggling to find her shot, finish at the rim and take care of the ball, but on Thursday, it was by far one of her better performances of the season.
Fulwiley ended the game with a career high of 26 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks, being one of, if not the most impactful player on the court.
“God bless this child with speed,” Mulkey said. “I wouldn’t want to be on that floor with her, because when she takes off, you’d better put it in high gear, because she’ll find you. And a lot of times, honestly, she looks to pass too much. She needs to get to the rim, finish and draw fouls.”
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Tigers trailed by nine, and any potential comeback would have to happen early and fast.
All things had to start on the defensive end, and the Tigers had to turn things up defensively to limit the Ole Miss offense to trim the deficit.
LSU did exactly that in the fourth quarter, holding the Rebels to only seven points and shooting 0-for-17 from the field.
Translating defense to offense, LSU outscored Ole Miss, 24-7 in the fourth quarter, including ending the game on a 19-1 run.
“I think two things keep you in the ball game: rebounding and defense,” Mulkey said. “It was a lot of what we told them at halftime, quit giving up second chance points, and take care of the ball and give yourself an opportunity.”
Fulwiley added another 10 points, LSU took care of the ball and held the Rebels to no field goals, propelling them to a 13-point comeback and control of the fourth seed in the SEC standings.
