Kim Mulkey and LSU Women’s Basketball Look To Ride Momentum Against No. 13 Oklahoma On Sunday

By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter

The No. 6 LSU women’s basketball team looks to continue to build off its big win against No. 2 Texas on Sunday as the Tigers travel to Norman to take on No. 13 Oklahoma at Lloyd Noble Center (2 p.m., ESPN2).

The Tigers got a full week to prepare for the Sooners after they defeated No. 2 Texas (18-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) 70-65 in a statement win. In the win against the Longhorns, LSU outrebounded Texas 44-35. Head coach Kim Mulkey, who’s known for having defensive teams that can rebound the ball, made sure her team was going to be ready.

“We’ve had a couple of practices with a rebound bubble on the rim, so there’s no way for the ball to go in and if you don’t rebound it, there’s running,” junior guard Mikaylah Williams said after the win against Texas. “And I think that’s something that’s something that we kind of have in the back of our heads to go into the game and the rebound bubble is on, get the rebound.”

The Tigers (16-2, 2-2 SEC) held the lead for most of the game, much like it did in its first two conference games, but this time, Mulkey’s squad was able to close the game out in the final minutes.

“We didn’t know how to finish and it’s not about missing shots,” Mulkey said after the win against Texas. “We didn’t know how to get that rebound. We didn’t know how to block out on a free throw and be tough. We didn’t know how to not turn it over in critical moments and they’re repeating that. They’re repeating that in a timeout tonight. They’re reminding each other, ‘Hey, we’ve been here before.’”

Just like last season, this year’s matchup between LSU and Oklahoma features two of the best offenses in the country. Currently, the Tigers boast the No. 1 scoring offense in the country, averaging 100.1 points per game. Who’s right behind them? The Sooners. Oklahoma (14-3, 2-2 SEC) will counter with its No. 2 scoring offense as it averages 90.8 points per game.

Five Sooners average 10 or more points a game. Oklahoma is led by true freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez, who leads the team in scoring with 19.2 points a game. Chavez ranks third among freshmen in the country when it comes to scoring. The Sooners have lost their last two SEC games – vs No. 16 Ole Miss and at No. 7 Kentucky.

In last year’s matchup at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, LSU and Oklahoma combined to score 207 points. LSU would go on to win 107-100.