LSU broke its record for the biggest margin of victory in Monday’s season opener against Southeastern Louisiana, winning by a staggering 94 points. That record did not even last a week. With former alum and national champion Angel Reese in attendance, Kim Mulkey’s side destroyed Texas Southern at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Thursday.

With a sensational 131-22 triumph, LSU set the record for the largest margin of victory in Division I history against a D-1 opponent. The 109-point win differential surpassed the previous benchmark of 108 points (140-32), set on Dec. 15, 2016, by a Baylor team under then-head coach Kim Mulkey.

Thursday’s win was driven by a 50-0 scoring run bridging the second and third quarters. Per ESPN Research, this sequence constitutes the highest-volume unanswered scoring run against a Division I opponent during Mulkey’s LSU tenure, which began in the 2021-22 season.

Seven players for the Tigers scored in double figures on Thursday, while Texas Southern was held without a double-digit scorer. Senior Mikaylah Williams, who Reese said would be a “great pro” in a post-game presser, scored 20 points, and guard Jada Williams added 18 points and seven assists after a five-point output in the season opener.

ZaKiyah Johnson scored 17. Grace Knox and MiLaysia Fulwiley added 15 each, and freshman Lola Lampley finished with 10 points.

For Jada Williams, the second quarter marked a complete flip. Following a scoreless first quarter, Williams shot 6-for-7 in the second, including three 3-pointers.

“We just some hoopers,” Williams said after the game (via LSU Tigers on TigerBait on YouTube). “Everybody’s gonna hoop. Every game, it’s going to be somebody else. … Honestly, this is the best team I ever played on. So I’m just out there having the time of my life.”

For Texas, Jayla Cornelius led with six points as the team shot 14.5% overall from the field and committed a staggering 38 turnovers. LSU leveraged those empty possessions to build a 55-0 margin in points off turnovers. LSU recorded a 40-0 scoring advantage throughout the second quarter, holding the opposing Tigers scoreless for the period.

Additionally, LSU held a ceremony for its 2023 national champion, Angel Reese, recognizing her stellar season in the WNBA, where she won the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award and made a Finals appearance with the Atlanta Dream. Kim Mulkey was happy with the fact that Reese still has a special place in her heart for LSU.

“You see so many times players leave their alma mater and don’t engage with their school anymore,” said Mulkey. “They go on to their pro careers and pro lives, but this is their school. They want to see it excel. For them to see [Angel] walk in that locker room, and they all had her shirt on; they can be Angel one day.”

An Anna Minaeva layup with 8:03 left in the fourth quarter pushed LSU past 100 points while their opponent was at 16. All 10 LSU players who logged minutes recorded points.

This strong start now raises hopes for LSU fans, who will expect a better run than last year. For 17-year-old Anna Minaeva, sharing a podium with Angel Reese came as a pleasant surprise.

Anna Minaeva Pleased to Share The Stage With Angel Reese

It’s not every day you sit beside one of your college’s most accomplished alumni at the post-game press conference. Yet, that was the case with Anna Minaeva.

“Yeah, I’m so excited that Angel Reese is coming, and like, she’s here, and I’m here, and we are here together. I was so shocked when I saw her for the first time in my life. So, I’m really glad that she’s here. And she visits us. So, it’s good,” Minaeva said when asked how the game felt for her and about sharing the podium with Angel Reese.

While Minaeva added 21 points in the victory, she felt a little surprised by the responsibility and trust Coach Mulkey placed on her this early in the season.

“I don’t know. It was like when I sat on the bench, I thought, like, it’s over for me, but then Coach Mulkey said, like, ‘In 2 minutes and a half, you need to come again.’ And I was like, this is my chance to get more rebounds, more points. So I started to motivate myself, and that’s it,” Minaeva said when asked about her fourth quarter.

While it’s good to see Mulkey’s squad firing on all cylinders this early in the season, there is no room for complacency. After all, LSU’s previous season ended with a two-point loss to Duke in the Sweet 16, despite the team leading the country in scoring at 95 points per game. LSU plays its next game against McNeese on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.