No. 6 LSU Women’s Basketball Looks To Keep Rolling Against Arkansas On Thursday

By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter

The No. 6 LSU women’s basketball team will look to extend its five-game winning streak when it host Arkansas on Thursday evening at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (7 p.m., SEC Network+).

The Tigers (19-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) are coming off an 80-69 win over Florida (13-9, 1-6 SEC) on Monday, their second straight game holding an opponent to 60 points or fewer. The Gators shot just 36.8% from the field on the night, converting on 21-of-57 shots.

Sophomore guard Jada Richard led the team in scoring with 20 points while three other Tigers scored 10 or more points: junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley (15), senior forward Amiya Joyner (14) and junior guard Mikaylah Williams (12). LSU, which leads the country in bench points per game with 42.2, had 27 against Florida.

“I would think that’s part of our identity,” head coach Kim Mulkey said on Monday after the win. “Who are you going to stop?”

The SEC landed 10 teams in the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week. Currently, LSU is tied for third in the league, just behind No. 15 Tennessee (14-3, 6-0 SEC), No. 5 Vanderbilt (20-1, 6-1 SEC) and No. 3 South Carolina (20-2, 6-2 SEC). Patrick Wright, the voice of the Lady Tigers, believes the conference is the best it’s been in quite some time.

“This league is head and shoulders way better than it was when coach Mulkey entered the league. Every night, you got a challenge,” Wright said on Tiger Rag Radio on Tuesday.

In her previous seasons, Mulkey never placed a heavy emphasis on winning the conference, but with the race tightening, she wants her team to put itself in contention for the SEC title.

“This race for a conference championship is open,” Mulkey said on SEC Network before the Tigers’ game against Florida on Monday. “Nobody knows who’s going to win this thing. We know that we were predicted to finish third, but why not shoot for the championship? And at this stage in the SEC, it’s wide open and that’s how good it is this year.”

The Tigers will have the chance to win the SEC and control their own destiny. If LSU can take care of Arkansas (11-10, 0-6 SEC), the league’s worst team, and No. 24 Alabama (18-3, 4-3 SEC) on Sunday, next Thursday’s matchup in Austin against No. 3 Texas (19-2, 4-2 SEC) would carry league-defining implications.  

Arkansas enters Thursday’s contest with LSU winless in league play. The Razorbacks are coming off a 76-66 loss to No. 23 Georgia (18-3, 4-3 SEC) last Thursday.

LSU came in at No. 5 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, jumping Vanderbilt.