By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
The No. 5 LSU women’s basketball team’s chances at winning an SEC regular season title took a massive blow after a 77-64 loss to No. 4 Texas on Thursday night at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Like it did in its first two conference games, LSU (21-3, 7-3 Southeastern Conference) collapsed in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter. The Tigers’ No. 1 scoring offense made just 3-of-9 shots (33.3%) in the period and were outscored 20-11 in the final ten minutes.
“I think they lost their composure a little bit,” head coach Kim Mulkey said after the loss. “It’s the timing of the turnovers. It’s the timing of the bad shots.”
Heading into Thursday’s matchup, LSU had a 24% chance to win at least a share of the regular season conference title. Now, the Tigers’ margin for error is much slimmer, as they have just a 9% chance.
The Tigers didn’t make things any easier on themselves, committing 19 turnovers in the loss.
“I just think they (Texas) did what they do and that is they just pressure you hard. They play physical and it was just another hard fought game,” Mulkey said.
Junior guard Mikaylah Williams led the team in scoring with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
In the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, LSU looked like it was running out of steam. The Longhorns extended their lead to 10 after Texas 6-6 senior center Kyla Oldacre hit a pair of free throws with 6:30 remaining. Texas (22-2, 7-2 SEC) later capped an 11-0 run to push its advantage to 67-53, and LSU was never able to climb back into the game.
LSU tied the game at 40 right out of halftime with baskets from Williams and senior guard Flau’jae Johnson. The Tigers later trailed by five, but Williams knocked down a corner three-pointer to cut the Longhorns’ lead to two with 5:04 remaining in the third quarter. Texas’ lead grew to as many as seven after hitting a three-pointer from the top of the key to make it 56-49 with 40 seconds left in the period. LSU answered to make it a one-possession game when junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley grabbed an offensive rebound and finished a layup in the paint. Texas led LSU 57-53 heading into the final quarter.
Oldacre picked up her second foul early in the second quarter. Freshman forward ZaKiyah Johnson knocked down a free throw to give LSU a 20-17 lead with 7:50 remaining before the Longhorns tied it at 20 on a three-pointer.
Soon after, Williams found her rhythm, knocking down two straight three-pointers to give the Tigers a 26-20 lead with 6:30 to play. She stayed hot, scoring 11 consecutive points for LSU as the Tigers took a 31-27 advantage. Texas later regained the lead and extended it to five points with a wide-open transition layup to make it 40-35 with a minute to go before halftime. Oldacre picked up her third foul with just four seconds left in the quarter, but Texas still led LSU 40-36 at the break — the first time this season the Tigers trailed at halftime.
LSU won the tip and struck first when Williams found freshman forward Grace Knox down low for an easy finish at the rim. The Tigers and Longhorns traded baskets over the next few possessions, as junior guard Madison Booker hit her first three shots to account for Texas’ first six points. Texas led LSU 10-8 with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Later, Flau’jae Johnson knocked down a three-pointer to spark an 11-2 run that gave LSU a 17-12 lead. The Tigers carried a 17-13 lead into the second quarter despite turning the ball over six times in the opening period.
LSU will wrap up its weeklong road trip Sunday when the Tigers travel to Alabama to face Auburn (13-11, 2-8 SEC) at Neville Arena (1 p.m., SEC Network).
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