Morrow scores 19, grabs 13 rebounds in the homecoming, as no. 5 LSU beats Illinois Chicago 91-73

On By Littum

CHICAGO (AP) — Aneesah Morrow had 19 points and 13 rebounds in her hometown and No. 5 LSU beat Illinois Chicago 91-73 Thursday night.

Flau’Jae Johnson added 23 points and 11 boards, and Mikaylah Williams chipped in with 17 points and seven assists. LSU (14-0) pulled away from UIC (2-6) in the third quarter, scoring 12 straight to break open an eight-point game.

Morrow had a long day when her no. 24 was retired at Simeon Career Academy, the same school where former NBA MVP Derrick Rose starred. The 6-foot-1 forward then established himself for two years at DePaul before transferring before last season to compete for national championships.

The nation’s leading rebounder, Morrow got a warm reception with at least 40 family members in the crowd of 4,322 — the largest ever for a women’s basketball game at UIC. She missed six of her first seven shots but finished 8 of 16 from the field.

Arin Freeman led UIC with 19 points and Makiyah Williams scored 15.

Takeaways

LSU: The Tigers showed again why they are one of the top teams in the country, even if it took them a while to take down the pesky Flames.

UIC: Flames can take solace in hanging with the no. 5 Tigers for more than a half.

Key moment

Last-Tear Poa drove in a three-point play to start LSU’s 12-0 run in the third quarter. Johnson scored six in that stretch, including a tip-in that made it 53-33 with just under six minutes left in the quarter.

Key state

LSU dominated 28-10 in points off turnovers and outrebounded UIC 40-29.

Next

LSU hosts Albany on Dec. 29 before opening SEC play at Arkansas four days later. UIC hosts Ohio on Sunday.

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