ST. THOMAS – For what was a beautiful night in St. Thomas at the University of Virgin Islands’ Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center for the fifth-ranked LSU women’s basketball’s 113-53 victory over Marist, the Tigers made NCAA history.
With the victory, LSU secured its seventh straight win to start the season, improving its overall record to 7-0. The Tigers earned their third victory all-time against Marist with the other two coming in 2015 and 2008. The Red Foxes’ record dropped to 2-5 on the year.
LSU’s 100-plus point output for the seventh-straight game set the NCAA record for consecutive games scoring at least 100 points. It was previously established by Coach Kim Mulkey’s 1981-82 Louisiana Tech team.
LSU’s win sends Mulkey’s Tigers to the championship game of the Reef Division at the Paradise Jam. LSU will take on Washington State, who defeated Miami (OH) in the Reef Division’s opening game of the day. The Cougars downed the Red Hawks, 71-67.
The championship game of the Paradise Jam Reef Division will take place at 6:30 p.m. CT inside the Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center. Brad Wells (pxp) and Kevin Lehman (analyst) will call the action on ESPN+. Fans are encouraged to tune into the LSU Sports Radio Network to listen in to Patrick Wright and Shaeeta Williams on the call.
LSU’s frontcourt shined against Marist with a 30-plus rebounding margin led by Amiya Joyner and Kate Koval, who both recorded a double-double. Joyner (16 points, 10 rebounds) earned her first double-double as a Tiger, while Koval (17 points, 11 rebounds) had her fourth performance culminating in a double-double.
Freshman ZaKiyah Johnson was all over the court, finishing with a career-high 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
The Tigers shot 47-of-88 (53.4%) from the floor, while Marist converted on 16-of-60 (26.7%). LSU was 15-of-18 (83.3%) from the free throw line and 4-of-16 (25%) from three-point range. Additionally, they tallied 21 assists, 60 rebounds, 22 steals, and 4 blocks.
ZaKiyah led the Tigers in scoring. In addition, six other Tigers finished in double figures including Koval (17), Flau’jae Johnson (16), Joyner (16), Jada Richard (11), MiLaysia Fulwiley (11) and Grace Knox (11).
Both LSU and Marist’s offenses got off to a slow start up to the first media timeout with the Tigers leading 10-5 with 4:50 remaining in the quarter. The Tiger defense helped their offense by holding the Red Foxes to zero points in the final stretch of the first quarter. The offense, however, built on its lead with an 11-0 run. LSU led Marist 21-5 at the end of the period.
LSU continued to extend its lead early in the second quarter, forcing Marist to take a timeout with 7:32 remaining in the half. The Tigers’ offensive run was sustained through the media timeout as LSU scored the first 13 points of the second period. The Red Foxes snapped the scoring drought with a three-pointer. Marist scored only nine points in the remainder of the half with LSU putting up 24 points in the same time span.
Over the final two quarters, Marist displayed its best scoring on the night with 39 points in the second half, as compared to its 14 in the first half. LSU was to outpace the Red Foxes in the second half, 55-39, bringing the final score to 113-53.
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