By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
On Sunday, Kim Mulkey and her Tigers will look to advance to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season. The second-seeded LSU women’s basketball team will face seventh-seeded Texas Tech inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2 p.m., ABC).
LSU was dominant in its 116-58 first-round win over 15th-seeded Jacksonville on Friday. The Tigers’ 116 points marked the most ever scored in program history in an NCAA Tournament game.
But scoring may not come as easily on Sunday. Texas Tech (26-7, 12-6 Big 12) brings one of the nation’s most aggressive defenses into the matchup with LSU (28-5, 12-4 SEC). The Lady Raiders rank No. 29 nationally in total defense, allowing just 57.9 points per game.
Junior guard Mikaylah Williams said ball security will be critical against a defense that capitalizes on mistakes.
“I think it’s important in every game,” Williams said Saturday. “But obviously we want to go in there, take care of the ball, but we want to break their press and score, not necessarily just break their press to break it. We want to break it to go score. Let’s run and run and run and possibly get up out of it and then we can really run our sets and get our offense going.”
Texas Tech is known for pressing for the full 40 minutes, but Mulkey said it’s nothing her team hasn’t seen before.
“Just be able to handle the ball, don’t turn it over,” Mulkey said. “When you get by them, go score at the other end. But we’re prepared for all of that.”
Krista Gerlich on #LSU: “Make them work for their points. We can’t turn the ball over. They’re going to score, we just let them get easy baskets.”
— Cory Diaz (@ByCoryDiaz) March 21, 2026
It won’t be the first time LSU has faced that kind of pressure this season. Both Ole Miss and Texas applied heavy pressure in earlier matchups, giving the Tigers valuable experience.
Williams believes those conference games will help the team tomorrow.
“We don’t want them to slow us down,” Williams said. “We don’t want their press to affect us and I feel like playing teams in the SEC have given us some pretty good practice for this press, so I think we’ll handle it well.”
Another key factor will be rebounding. LSU holds a size advantage, but winning the battle on the glass could come down to guard play.
Because Texas Tech lacks size, it rebounds by committee, with guards playing a major role. Williams emphasized the importance of competing for every loose ball.
“You know, playing with Mulkey and Starkey, rebounds are everything. We rebound no matter what, no matter who is on the court. So that’s always going to be a focal point for us,” Williams said.
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