BATON ROUGE — LSU women’s basketball trailed by 15 points early in the second quarter. It clawed back to within one possession multiple times in the fourth quarter but couldn’t quite get over the hump.
That is when Mikaylah Williams stepped in.
The LSU sophomore sensation scored 9 of her 29 points in the final 5:24 of regulation, most importantly swishing the game-tying free-throw line jumper to send the game to overtime.
A game that the Tigers trailed the entire way, they seized control and it was Williams that delivered the final dagger, her fifth 3-pointer of the game, as LSU rallied to defeat the Cardinal 94-88 in the SEC/ACC Challenge matchup Thursday night inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Mikaylah Williams pilots LSU women’s basketball to comeback win down the stretch
It’s no secret Flau’jae Johnson and Williams are the natural players to carry even more of the load but how they approached the situation was key.
When the game was on the line, it was Williams who shouldered the load, but it wasn’t forced. The star LSU sophomore let the game come to her and her teammates are to be commended for feeding her the ball and finding her when she was open.
She took 18 shots, most of them quality looks, and she finished with a game-high 32 points.
LSU women’s basketball continues to struggle against zone defense. Stanford exploited that
No team has packed the matchup 2-3 zone inside against LSU better than Stanford did Thursday night. The Cardinal dared the Tigers to shoot from the perimeter, which has been a strength for the team with Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams.
But it worked for much of the game as LSU turned in one of its worst shooting performances of the season, shooting 39% to fall behind big early.
The Tigers rebounded some to shoot 47% and 43% in the second period and the second half, respectively, and it was just enough to overcome Stanford’s hot start offensively.
LSU women’s basketball issues defending the 3-point shot remain
Kim Mulkey’s teams at LSU haven’t defended the arc well since the national championship season in 2022-23. That issue has rolled over from last season despite there being some new faces.
The Cardinal feasted off the Tigers’ woes with Brooke Demetre leading she way. She knocked down four first-half 3s and Stanford went 9 of 26 (34.8%) for the game from behind the arc.
LSU managed to shoot 34.8% from the 3-point line as Williams had five makes and Johnson hit three deep shots.
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
