Mulkey will see familiar foe when No. 19 LSU gets visit from No. 23 Texas A&M

LSU's Faustine Aifuwa. PHOTO BY: Jonathan Mailhes

Three days after opening the Southeastern Conference play with a victory on the road No. 19 LSU (13-1, 1-0) makes is home debut in league play at 2 p.m. Sunday against No. 23 Texas A&M (10-2.

LSU, which has won its last 12 games, registered a road win at No. 13 Georgia with a 68-82 victory. Guard Khayla Pointer had 21 points that featured two big 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter and center Faustine Aifuwa had 17.

The game will be able to be streamed online on the SEC Network + with Lyn Rollins and Victor Howell and fans can listen to game on the LSU Sports Radio Network, 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge.

Any educators coming to the game will have the opportunity to purchase $1 tickets when they show an ID at the LSU Ticket Office.

“Every time you play in the SEC it prepares you for the next game,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. “What it doesn’t prepare you for is different styles of play. We’re going to see a totally different style of play. You’re going to see more perimeter shooters. They can score the ball out there. You’re going to see all zone vs. the very little zone we saw in the third quarter (against UGA). The intensity, the passion, the importance of that game in the moment prepares you for the next one”

Pointer averages 17.4 points per game to lead LSU and joining her in the backcourt with 13.3 points per game has been Alexis Morris. Morris, a Texas A&M transfer.

Aifuwa has been starting to find her groove as well, scoring in double figures in five of the past seven games in a stretch that has included two double-doubles. Autumn Newby and Aifuwa have been a key players in LSU’s rebounding efforts where the Tigers rank No. 11 in the nation with a +11.8-rebounding margin.

Now the Tigers will welcome Texas A&M, the nation’s top three-point shooting team. The Aggies, who’s SEC opener on Thursday against Vanderbilt was postponed due to Vanderbilt health and safety protocols, are shooting 43.5 percent from beyond the arc. Four Aggies – Kayla Wells, Qadashah Hoppie, Jordan Nixon and Destiny Pitts – shoot the three ball above 40-percent as LSU’s perimeter defense will be put to the test.

“It’s not how many they shoot, it’s how well they shoot it,” said Coach Mulkey. “We’ve got our hands full, and we feel like we will see zone, zone, zone and zone. He’ll (Coach Gary Blair) will press you some, but it’s more of a zone press. His strengths are his perimeter players.”

The game marks the final trip to LSU for Blair who announced before the season this would be his final year. He is the winningest women’s basketball coach in Texas A&M history.

Mulkey was an All-American point guard and helped Louisiana Tech to a pair of national championships when Blair was an assistant with the Lady Techsters. In their head-to-head coaching matchups Mulkey has a 19-5 record against Blair’s teams that include Arkansas and Texas A&M.

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Tiger Rag News Services

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