No. 7 LSU handed the ball to freshman Mikaylah Williams and got out of the way on Tuesday, riding the hot hand for 42 of the team’s 109 points in a 30-point victory over Kent State in Baton Rouge.
Kent State put another scare in the Tigers — who lost the season opener to Colorado — in the first half, trailing only 39-37 at the break by sagging off of LSU’s perimeter players.
Williams set the record for points in a game by an LSU freshman. She made 15 of 20 attempts from the field and dominated the second half with 32 points all while All-American forward Angel Reese never touched the court in the final two quarters.
LSU (3-1) got the message from head coach Kim Mulkey at halftime and ran away with the 109-79 win in the rare noon weekday tipoff. Aneesah Morrow kicked in 17 points and Hailey Van Lith added 15 points and five assists. Reese had 11 in the first half.
The Tigers missed all six 3-point tries in the first half but opened up a 71-56 after three quarters thanks to 14 in the frame from Williams, including a pair of 3-pointers. She easily cleared her previous career high of 20.
Williams was 5 of 8 from 3-point range and made all seven of her free throws. She had seven rebounds and three assists.
Reese’s first shot attempt on Tuesday was a 3-pointer and she later made a step-back from around 17 feet, neither of which appeared to meet Mulkey’s approval. But she said postgame she liked “the matchups on the floor” when asked why Reese didn’t play in the third and fourth quarters.
Kent State (1-1) led 17-16 at the end of the first quarter.
–Field Level Media