LSU Lady Tigers Defeat Tennessee 89-73 On Senior Night

BATON ROUGE, La. – In an emotional celebration of three seniors who each made a unique impact on LSU, the sixth-ranked Tigers came out and took down the Tennessee Lady Volunteers for the fourth-straight time with an 89-73 victory Thursday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

With the victory, LSU collected its third consecutive win, improving its record to 25-4 overall and 11-4 in Southeastern Conference action. With the loss, Tennessee fell in its fifth-straight game, dropping to 16-11 on the year and 8-7 in league play. LSU extended its longest winning streak against the Lady Vols with a fourth consecutive win dating back to Feb. 13, 2020.

LSU returns to action for the regular season finale Sunday as it takes on Mississippi State in Starkville. The contest is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network with Matt Schumacker (pxp) and Anne O’Neil (analyst) on the call. Fans can also listen to the LSU Sports Radio Network with Patrick Wright and Shaeeta Williams calling the action.

Junior guards Mikaylah Williams and MiLaysia Fulwiley paced the Tiger offense against the Lady Vols with 20 points and 18 points, respectively. Williams, LSU’s leading scorer, had 20-plus points for the fourth time this season. In addition, she tallied 10 rebounds to record her second-straight double-double with five assists and two steals. Williams’ double-double marked the third of her career at LSU.

“I thought Mikaylah played strong,” Coach Kim Mulkey said. “When we went small, I moved Mikaylah inside with (ZaKiyah Johnson) some and with Grace (Knox) some; and I just felt like she played extremely strong, both on the perimeter and she was taking it in there hard. We all know Mikaylah is one of the best jump shooting mid-range players in the country, but she mixed up what she was doing offensively. She missed a couple threes there, but they were good shots. And I think she ended up with like 10 rebounds.”

Fulwiley, who was in lockstep with Williams in point totals, had six rebounds, three assists, two steals and four blocks. The four blocks tied her career high, which she has accomplished in three previous games.

Joining Williams and Fulwiley in the double figure scoring was freshman ZaKiyah Johnson (14), freshman Grace Knox (13), and senior Flau’jae Johnson (10).

LSU and Tennessee both had slow offensive starts in the first quarter as the Tigers led 10-6 by the opening media timeout. The Lady Volunteers came out of the timeout at 4:49 and took the lead into the second quarter on a 11-3 scoring run. Sophomore Jada Richard shortened the deficit as the time wound down with a three-pointer as Tennessee led 20-16 after one.

The home squad responded in a big way in the second quarter as LSU outscored the Lady Volunteers 18-6 at the media timeout. With 4:56 remaining in the first half, Tennessee immediately responded with five points on a jumper and made three. The Tigers briefly held the Lady Volunteers at arm’s length before taking a lead with under a minute left.

Williams would take the final possession down to the basket and give LSU the 43-42 lead at half. Fulwiley led the Tigers’ scoring attack at the half with 11 points, three rebounds and one assist. She was LSU’s only double-digit scorer in the half.

In the third quarter, LSU attempted to extend its lead but Tennessee tied the ballgame at 45 early on. After that, the Tigers outscored the Lady Vols, 23-14, closing out the quarter with a 70-59 advantage. Despite Tennessee trying to crawl its way back in the ballgame, LSU was able to close out the game in the fourth quarter by outscoring the visitors, 19-14, and winning on Senior Night, 89-73.

(Release via LSU Athletics)

Box Score

Loading Twitter/X Embed...
If tweet fails to load, click here.