WOMENS BASKETBALL

Louisiana State 99, Arkansas 68

RON HIGGINS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

BATON ROUGE, La. - Mikaylah Williams scored 21 points and Hailey Van Lith added 20 as No. 10 LSU hammered Arkansas 99-68.

Angel Reese contributed 16 points and 17 rebounds, Aneesah Morrow had 14 and Flau’jae Johnson had 13 as all five starters scored in double digits for the Tigers (18-2, 5-1 Southeastern Conference).

Samara Spencer scored a team-high 20 points for the Razorbacks (14-6, 2-3), who made just 12 of the 47 3-point attempts.

Arkansas did well to trail 25-16 at the end of the first quarter, considering LSU opened the game on an 18-0 run that could have been substantially more. The Tigers missed 10 of its first 17 shots, including five layups.

After starting missing seven straight shots and committing five turnovers, the Razorbacks closed the opening period hitting six of its last eight shots, including four 3-pointers.

Undeterred, LSU drilled its first seven of eight shots in the second quarter and took a 55-28 lead into the break.

The Razorbacks didn’t go down without a fight. Four of their five third-quarter baskets were 3-pointers, including a pair by Spencer. She scored 10 points to help Arkansas whittle LSU’s 27-point halftime lead twice to 22 points, the second time on her 3-pointer with 3:01 left.

A couple of Williams’ stop-and-pop jumpers restarted LSU’s engines. The Tigers closed the period with a 10-2 burst that sent LSU to the fourth quarter with an 80-50 lead.

BIG PICTURE

LSU: The Tigers will take a 33-game regular-season homecourt winning streak into Thursday’s game vs. No. 1 South Carolina. The Gamecocks were the last team to win in the regular season at LSU, scoring a 66-60 victory on Jan. 6, 2022. Including hosting four NCAA tourney games, the Tigers are 44-3 at home under third-year coach Kim Mulkey.

Arkansas: The Razorbacks gave up 99 points to LSU, the most they’ve allowed since January 2021 in a 104-82 loss to South Carolina.

Louisiana State athletics press release

January 21, 2024