Flau’jae Johnson helps LSU women hold off pesky Tulane team | LSU

For the second time in the LSU women’s basketball team’s last three games, a non-conference opponent visited the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and caught fire from 3-point range.

But this time matched no. 7 Tigers (6-0) that flurry of points when it hit them.

LSU picked up an 85-74 win over Tulane on Wednesday even though the Green Wave shot 6 of 11 from 3-point range in the second quarter, duplicating the offensive spurt that allowed Murray State to threaten the Tigers on Friday. LSU’s offense dried up for a stretch of the game. But in this one against Tulane, it flowed to a lead of as many as 23 points.

That advantage was wide enough to withstand Tulane’s 17-4 run in the fourth quarter, a rally that cut LSU’s lead to single digits. The Tigers also survived that push, thanks in large part to a pair of key buckets from star junior Flau’jae Johnson.

“I thought we just got very complacent,” coach Kim Mulkey said, “hitting shots. One pass, one shot.”

In the first half, Tulane (1-3) switched to a zone defense after trailing by 10. Unlike in the second quarter of its win over Murray State, LSU still found openings in the paint and used them to score easily . buckets that matched the 3-pointers the Wave hit at the other end.

For the fifth time this season, Johnson led LSU in scoring. She finished with 25 points on 10-of-24 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds and five assists.

Star senior Aneesah Morrow finished with 23 points, 16 rebounds and two steals after shooting 10 of 17 from the field. Transfer forward Jersey Wolfenbarger also had a season-high 15 points and eight rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting.

Morrow and Wolfenbarger keyed LSU’s strong second quarter, a frame in which the Tigers shot 45% from the floor and scored 12 points in the paint. The post duo combined for 15 of the Tigers’ 25 points in the second quarter after converting seven of the 11 field goals they took from the field.

“I thought we showed a lot of fight,” first-year Tulane coach Ashley Langford said. “Our players weren’t afraid of the moment. I’m encouraged by how we moved forward. The big thing is we got better tonight.”

Mulkey kept Wolfenbarger on the floor to begin the second half, inserting her into a lineup with Johnson, Morrow, Last-Tear Poa and standout sophomore Mikaylah Williams. Transfer point guard Shayeann Day-Wilson started the game but missed all four of her shots.

Tulane senior guard Kyren Whittington scored a team-high 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting. She scored half of her points as part of the Wave’s fourth-quarter rally.

Tulane guard Victoria Kennan finished with 21 points after hitting 7 of 11 shots from beyond the arc. In the second quarter, she hit all five 3-pointers she attempted and quickly recorded 15 points and gave the Wave a chance to hang around in the second half.

But Tulane couldn’t repeat that success in the third quarter. It missed the first three shots it took from long range and 10 of the first 16 field goals it took to start the second half. Across all four quarters, the Wave shot 37% from the field and 37% from 3-point range.

LSU redshirt sophomore Sa’Myah Smith scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds. Williams tallied eight points, five assists and three rebounds after missing all four 3-pointers she took.

On layups, the Tigers shot 21 of 36. Other than Wolfenbarger’s score, LSU got just five points from its bench.

“These other players are good,” Mulkey said. “And I’m going to challenge them because you’re missing wide-open layups, and it’s not the defense. If it was the defense, the opponent, I’d give those guys credit. I’m someone who will always give credit to the opponent.

“But we just need chips.”

LSU will next fly down to the Bahamas to play in the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship. There, the Tigers will meet Washington at 12:30 on Monday. A win over the Huskies would match them up Wednesday with the winner of a game between Southern and No. 20 NC State.

Mulkey said she expects sophomore guard Mjracle Sheppard to practice on Friday and prepare to make his season debut in one of LSU’s next two games.

Sheppard, a transfer from Mississippi State, suffered a stress reaction injury between the Tigers’ two exhibition contests.

Staff Writer Scott Rabalais contributed to this story.