After a thunderous reception at home, the LSU Tigers began their title defense against the Rice Owls. However, they had to dig down deep as an upset-defying 24th double-double from Angel Reese (10 points and 20 rebounds) secured a hard-fought 70-60 first round victory.

The regular starters for Kim Mulkey– Angel Reese, Aneesah Morrow, Hailey Van Lith, Mikaylah Williams and Flau’jae Johnson–got the ball rolling pretty early in the game. The Lady Tigers were on a 7-0 run before the visitors could blink. The Owls quickly responded by scoring the next five points. Soon both the teams were on even grounds as the Rice Owls were able to put up a counterattack. Still, the defending champions were able to capitalize on the offensive rebounds and create some separation. At this time, LSU’s No.13 Last-Tear Poa enters the court amidst a standing ovation from the PMAC. LSU end the first quarter at 12-6.

LSU’s defensive struggle continued in the next quarter as Rice quickly got on level terms. Following this, some fierce offensive play from Morrow and Johnson got the lead back for LSU. Moreover, Morrow became the first player to register a double-digit score. At the same time, the All-American forward Angel Reese improved on the team’s defense as she kept on grabbing the rebounds. Regardless, the visitors kept troubling Kim Mulkey’s crew and ended the opening half trailing by just 3 points.

Read More- Can Angel Reese and LSU Repeat NCAA Heroics? Kim Mulkey Reflects on Difficult Road in March Madness

The back-and-forth continued after half-time. While the Owls had a similar 33.3% accuracy from beyond the arc at that time, they were ahead of LSU in terms of field goals (15 of 38). Seemingly, junior forward Malia Fisher kept on finding ways to keep the defending champions on an upset alert. Meanwhile, despite being 0 of 5 from the floor, a 6 of 6 from the line by Reese kept the Tiger’s marginal lead intact.

Still, there was a lot to play for in the final 10 minutes of the game.

The desperate LSU effort in the penultimate quarter

The AAC tournament champions came hard at the home team in the final quarter. Yet, Reese kept her focus on the rebounds and got 19 of the 45 LSU rebounds at that time. Further, Morrow (15 points, 7 rebounds) and Johnson (14 points) improved LSU’s shooting from the field (19 of 46) and got the SEC runners-up closer to victory. Eventually, LSU pulled through the Owls’ valiant attempts and closed the game at 70-60.

Read More- “I Just Try to Do Whatever to Win”: Angel Reese Talks About March Madness Before Their Opening Game Against the Owls

The defensive lapses continue to trouble the Lady Tigers. Nonetheless, this win will give their confidence a huge boost. Yet, Kim Mulkey needs to figure out the gray areas if they want to get through the murderer’s route.

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