BATON ROUGE – LSU set a program record for points in a NCAA Tournament Saturday night, defeating San Diego State in the PMAC, 103-48, to advance to the second round.
LSU will face Florida State in the Round of 32 on Monday in the PMAC at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN. The Seminoles took George Mason down in the PMAC, 94-59.
LSU’s previous record for the NCAA Tournament was the 102 points to capture the 2023 National Championship.
The Tigers were led tonight by Flau’Jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow. Johnson finished as the game’s leading scorer with 22 points, her fourth straight NCAA Tournament game with 20+ points. Morrow notched her 27th double-double of the season and 102nd of her career with her 12 points and 12 rebounds. Sa’Myah Smith also contributed with a line of 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Aztecs were led by Jazlen Green and Nat Martinez, who each finished with seven points.
Johnson and Williams nailed LSU’s first two three-point shots as the Tigers got off to a quick start. Morrow got on the scoreboard next and Johnson got a steal in transition as LSU jumped out to an 11-0 start. SDSU called a timeout and got on the board out of the break. When LSU subbed in all three guards and immediately Shayeann Day Wilson drained a three and Mjracle Sheppar slashed to the rim for a layup. The Tigers carried a 27-10 lead into the second quarter.
The Tigers kept things rolling, starting the second quarter on a 9-2 run. By the end of the quarter LSU had Johnson, Morrow and Sheppard in double figures and the Tigers led by 29, 49-20.
Johnson hit her third triple of the game at the start of the third quarter as LSU stayed hot. Jada Richard helped LSU reach 60 points with an and-one and Day-Wilson picked up a block on the defensive end. Then the Tigers forced a shot clock violation as they had everything grooving. LSU led 73-36 heading into the final quarter.
The Tigers closed with a solid fourth quarter showing as Johnson remained hot from outside, sinking her fourth triple of the game. Aalyah Del Rosario scored a couple buckets back-to-back to put LSU over 90. The Tigers continued climbing and were able to put the finishing touches on their 103-48 win.
Check back later for the full recap.
