By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
The second-seeded LSU women’s basketball team delivered its best defensive performance of the season in its 101-47 Round of 32 win over seventh-seeded Texas Tech on Sunday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU limited the Lady Raiders to a season-low 25.4% from the field, holding them to just 16-of-63 shooting.
That outcome felt inevitable from the moment LSU began scouting Texas Tech. Heading into Sunday’s matchup, associate head coach Bob Starkey emphasized the importance of keeping the Lady Raiders’ guards in front and preventing them from getting inside.
And the game plan worked to perfection. The Tigers did not allow a single point in the paint in the first half and surrendered just 12 in the second. Sophomore guard Jada Richard said LSU’s defensive success was the result of high-level execution.
“I feel like we were locked in mentally just in terms of scouting report and just being where you’re supposed to be,” Richard said on Sunday.
Because Texas Tech relies on smaller lineups, LSU frequently switched defenders while playing man-to-man throughout the game. Richard said that constant communication made those switches effective, allowing players to rely on one another to execute their assignments.
“I feel like we were just on point,” Richard said. “We were very helpful in terms of communicating. They like to do a lot of back door cuts and on ball screens and things like that and I feel like our posts were up and ready to guard. So, it just came with us being locked in and communicating and being there for the next teammate.”
Buh bye ball 👋👋👋 pic.twitter.com/4cAt1AM3js
— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) March 22, 2026
In the first half, Texas Tech went 6-of-14 from three-point range. While 15 of its 25 first-half points came from beyond the arc – and five more from the free throw line – Kim Mulkey was pleased with LSU’s defensive approach.
“As you see, they’re hitting a lot of threes when the shot clock’s winding down because really that’s the only shot we’re giving them,” Mulkey said at halftime on the ESPN broadcast. “We’re really switching good. We’re communicating good.”
LSU consistently forced Texas Tech into contested, late shot-clock three-pointers by keeping its guards in front. Senior guard Bailey Maupin, who led the Lady Raiders with 19 points on 5-of-20 shooting, said LSU’s defense made it difficult to find any rhythm.
“They’re all super athletic,” Maupin said after the loss. “They play very good gaps. They slide underneath ball screens and their main objective so to keep everybody in front, so that makes it difficult for any offense.”
The Tigers tightened their grip even more in the second half, holding Texas Tech to just 2-of-21 from three-point range. According to senior guard Flau’jae Johnson, the key to those improved closeouts was anticipation and trust.
“I feel like this was our best defensive effort of the year, honestly, as a whole team,” Johnson said on Sunday. “We do defensive player of the game but I think it’s a team defense award today because everybody was everywhere. We were helping each other.”
The classic Big 4️⃣ steal & finger roll to score 🥹
— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) March 22, 2026
📺ABC pic.twitter.com/JlCH9sayAP
The saying holds true: offense wins games, but defense wins championships. LSU’s explosive scoring makes it difficult for opponents to keep pace, but a second national title will depend on the Tigers’ ability to stay locked in defensively throughout the rest of the run.
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