On Sunday afternoon, Hailey Van Lith, a fierce guard for LSU, looked down the Florida bench as her fourth bucket went through the net. She shrugged and turned back to the defensive end of the court.
Simple pull-up midrange jumper from the top of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center key, it was a routine shot. But Van Lith needed that basket in order to overcome a shooting slump, provide the No. 9 Tigers with effective first-half production, and help them defeat Florida 106-66 to end a two-game losing streak.
With the victory, LSU produced one of its most effective performances of the year and broke the school record for most points scored in an SEC game—103 against Alabama in 2004.
The Tigers (19-4, 6-3 SEC) made 49% of their field goals and 47% of their three-pointers. Six athletes scored ten or more points. Moreover, LSU scored 42 paint points at the end of a profitable day, 12 more than Florida, which only shot 35% from the field.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve looked at a box score, and we held our opponent underneath 39.9% shooting,” Kim Mulkey, the coach, remarked. “And it was 35.3% today. Thus, it enables us to work on ourselves when you’re rebounding and giving them one shot. In transition, we can run and take off.”
LSU started much more strongly this time. Its offense took off at 6:23 into the first quarter and swiftly outscored the Gators (11-9, 2-6) with easy baskets at all three levels.
Following a putback layup by Aneesah Morrow, Mikaylah Williams made a spectacular pull-up jumper in transition. A minute later, Flau’jae Johnson drained a 3-pointer off an open look that Morrow had set up for her on the right wing, and Williams took advantage of another easy look, this one after a series of stagger screens that brought her to wide space close to the elbow.
LSU led 16–6 at the end of the run. From there, it led 24–11 at the end of the first quarter and 54–28 at the half.
Mulkey remarked, “Everything seemed to be a lot smoother.”
Van Lith and Williams struggled with their shooting throughout the course of their previous two games, which LSU lost. Williams made only one of ten 3-point attempts against South Carolina. Van Lith only made one of his six field goal attempts against Mississippi State.
However, they all caught fire as they faced Florida. Together, the two scored 42 points on 15 of 23 shots. Van Lith easily found her marks in the mid-range and earned a season-high 10 trips to the free throw line. She also collected seven rebounds and had two steals.
Williams fired a scorching-hot 9 of 12 from the field, making 3 of her 5 3-point attempts.
Mulkey remarked, “The guards took a lot of heat the last game.” “They tell me they faced a lot of heat from the public. And whether it’s fair or not, no rival wants to accept that kind of behavior.”
Together with her season-high 20 rebounds, Morrow’s 18 points, two blocked shots, and three assists were contributing factors. Angel Reese, who led LSU in assists with six, finished alongside her in the frontcourt with a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double, marking her 14th of the season.
Thanks to strong performances by Last-Tear Poa, freshman center Aalyah Del Rosario, and freshman wing Janae Kent, LSU also scored 22 points from its bench. Poa tied her season high with nine points.
Conversely, Florida gave up twenty points, lost the rebounding battle by twenty boards, and let LSU to attempt thirty-four free throws, of which the Tigers made twenty.
Mulkey stated, “They brought it today.” “What they provided today was simply toughness, a defensive fire in their bellies, and intensity. Yes, I was really happy with their response.”
Only three times in the history of the program did LSU score at least 100 points in an SEC regular season game—the victory over Florida. Since their 103-68 victory against Alabama in 2004, the Tigers have not achieved that level of performance against a conference opponent.
Next Thursday at 8 p.m., LSU will travel to play Vanderbilt.
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