Williams, Morrow and Johnson shine as LSU beats Florida State 101-71 in women’s NCAA tourney
Williams, Morrow and Johnson shine as LSU beats Florida State 101-71 in women’s NCAA tourney
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Mikaylah Williams scored 28 points and Aneesah Morrow added 26 points and 11 rebounds, leading Flau’Jae Johnson and LSU to a runaway 101-71 victory over Florida State in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Monday night.
Sa’Myah Smith had a season-high 20 points and 12 rebounds for LSU (30-5), which blew open what had been a 50-49 game at halftime by outscoring the Seminoles 31-6 in the third quarter.
“That’s probably our best third quarter by far,” Morrow said. “I was of course proud that our team was able to do that because we’re capable — and sometimes you have to see that, especially if we’re going to the Sweet 16.”
Johnson played just seven minutes in the first half after committing two fouls and banging her leg while running the floor. She returned to start the second half and stirred the home crowd into a frenzy with a series of electrifying plays.
“Flau’Jae always brings a lot of energy, getting the crowd involved, being able to come in and make an instant impact,” Morrow said. “Just that complete all-around player.”
Johnson began her third-quarter surge by dribbling across the paint in transition and hitting a right-handed hook off the glass while being fouled — a three-point play that gave LSU a 59-51 lead.
Soon after came her layup on a driving right-handed scoop, and then a driving, no-look, underhanded flip to Morrow in the paint for an easy layup.
After that, Johnson blocked O’Mariah Gordon’s perimeter shot, drew a foul on the other end and hit two free throws to make it 78-55.
“I hate sitting out in the first half. It irritates me,” Johnson said. “But just having that energy, bringing that energy for the team — I know that’s that what we need.”
Johnson scored nine of her 13 points in the period and seemed to set the tone for her team. Williams, who sat out the second quarter after committing two fouls, scored 12 during the third quarter. Meanwhile, the third-seeded Tigers suffocated a Seminoles offense that had led the nation in scoring this season with 87.4 points per game.
“They came out of halftime on a mission. We couldn’t get a couple stops, and then the ball wouldn’t go in for us,” Florida State coach Brooke Wyckoff said. “Good teams are going to prey on that.”
LSU, Wyckoff added, is “a team that’s really scary moving forward.”
Ta’Niya Latson scored a game-high 30 points, but just seven after halftime. Makayla Timpson scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the sixth-seeded Seminoles (24-9).
Latson scored seconds after the opening tip and had Florida State’s first 12 points — 10 before four minutes elapsed.
Her 23 first-half points came on an array of slashing layups, floaters and a 3-pointer.
“It’s really hard to take that much of a load offensively,” Wyckoff said. “To score all those points, to play at the pace she plays at, it takes a lot out of you.”
“Thirty points tonight in only 30 minutes is pretty freakin’ good,” Wyckoff added.
LSU coach Kim Mulkey said the Tigers adjusted how they defended Latson in the second half by going under screens to protect more against her drives to the hoop — even if that meant giving her more space outside.
“We just couldn’t keep her out of the paint and got in foul trouble because we couldn’t keep her in front of us, and gave up the right-hand drive in the first half,” Mulkey explained. “So, just completely get on her right hand. When she uses the screen, go under it and take your chances that she’s going to miss more 3s than she does free throws.”
Latson finished 2 for 10 from 3-point range.
Takeaways
Florida State: The Seminoles shot just 36% (27 of 76) for the game and just 25% (9 of 36) in the second half, which wasn’t nearly good enough to keep pace with the Tigers.
LSU: The Tigers’ second half made a statement as they move on to the third round. They shot 54% (19 of 35) over the final two quarters, when they also scored 11 points off turnovers and outscored the Seminoles 28-8 in the paint. LSU also finished with 29 assists on 41 made field goals for the game.
Up next
LSU advances to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season, a streak that began during its 2023 national title run. Last season the Tigers advanced to the Elite 8 before losing to Iowa.
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By BRETT MARTEL
AP Sports Writer
