Quickly erasing the threat of what would have been a major upset in the Round of 32, the LSU women's basketball team regrouped at halftime and went on a major third quarter run to help them breeze into the Sweet 16 with an 83-56 win over Middle Tennessee State.
The Tigers, who defeated Rice University 70-60 in the first round, outscored the Conference USA champion Blue Raiders 27-13 in the third, and 24-7 in the fourth, en route to a comfortable 27-point victory on Sunday from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.
Trailing 36-32 at halftime, LSU ramped things up on defense, attacked the basket well and utilized skillful interior passing to make their run.
From the 8:20-6:25 mark of the third, the Tigers went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 41 after freshman Mikayla Williams, who scored 16 in the game, knocked down a corner triple. Sophomore Flau'jae Johnson, who had a team-high 21 points, hit on one-of-two free throws at the 5:24 mark to give her team a 42-41 edge.
At the other end, Middle Tennessee sophomore Ta'mia Scott connected on a driving layup to give the Blue Raiders the lead back, 43-42.
LSU took the lead, 45-43, after an interior dime from Angel Reese to junior transfer Aneesa Morrow, who finished the game with a strong 19-point, 13-rebound double-double. Morrow previously played at DePaul University.
A three from Johnson, giving her 17 points, extended the lead to six, and two free-throws from Reese with 2:22 to go in the quarter extended the lead to eight, 53-45.
With inside a minute left in the quarter, Middle Tennessee State's 6 foot, 6 inch center Anastasia Boldyreva fouled out contesting Reese. The junior's fouling out allowed Reese to continue to feast on the interior.
Reese was able to get inside early in the final quarter, first finishing on a reverse layup and then hitting another to give her team a 12-point lead, 61-49. Moments later, Johnson found Morrow near the basket who was fouled. Morrow hit both free throws to push the lead to 20, 69-49, with 6:46 to go in the game.
Reese was dominant inside, finishing the game with 20 points and 11 rebounds to combine with Morrow's double-double.
Blue Raider senior Savannah Wheeler led her team in scoring with 21, while also adding seven rebounds and five assists. However, she hit on only eight-of-24 shots and made just one of eight attempts from three.
For the game, Middle Tennessee shot just 33.9 percent from the field and made only eight out of their 31 attempts from three-point range, the Tigers doing a great job especially in the second half of contesting shots and rebounding. LSU shot 43.3 percent, and made five-of-12 attempts from beyond the arc. Courtney Whitson and Jada Grannum, though, both of whom were playing in their final college games, each had 10 rebounds for the Blue Raiders, keeping them close in the rebounding battle despite Reese and Morrow combining for 24. The Lady Tigers finished with a 43-41 rebounding edge.
The second half turnaround was welcomed for an LSU program that has their sights set on another national championship. Looking more sluggish in the opening half, they turned things around quickly, showing their mettle as a championship team. They advance to the Sweet 16 where they will play on Saturday, March 30. This was the second consecutive appearance in the tournament for Middle Tennessee State, who were ranked as high as 25th in the nation this season on their way to a 30-5 record.
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