LSU outlasts Stanford in overtime, 94-88 – LSU

BATON ROUGE – No. 5 LSU (10-0) trailed nearly the entire game against Stanford (7-2) in the PMAC on Thursday night, but Mikaylah Williams, who finished with 32 points and 9 rebounds, sank a turnaround jumper with four seconds left In overtime, the Tigers completed their comeback with a 94:88 win and remained undefeated.

“With the guards and the team we have,” Williams said, “it can be any night; It happened to be my night tonight.

LSU fell behind early in the game and was down as many as 15 points in the first quarter. The Tigers cut Stanford’s lead to two at halftime, but the Cardinals extended the lead back to nine in the third quarter. Stanford kept hitting hard shots as LSU got closer, but the Tigers kept going.

With 40 seconds left, Stanford had a six-point lead, 78-72. Williams got a one and made contact as she raced right across the lane and cut the lead to three at the other end. But Aneesah Morrow fouled on the next possession, sending Stanford to the line for a five-point lead. With 17 seconds left, Jada Richard found Kailyn Gilbert on the right wing, sank a three-pointer and cut the lead to two.

Stanford called a timeout and advanced the ball. Flau’Jae Johnson’s defensive play on the ensuing inbounds might have saved the game. She moved into the passing lane to deflect the ball off a Stanford player, giving LSU the ball with 15 seconds left.

Gilbert brought the ball up and passed to Williams at the top left of the lane. Williams fumbled the ball, missing the opportunity to hit a cutting Gilbert toward the rim. But Williams took control of the game and hit the turnaround jumper to tie the game at 80-0 and send the game into overtime.

“I decided to do a play and the rest was history,” Williams said.

Williams continued with her hot hand, scoring 6 points with two three-pointers in overtime. Gilbert had 5 points and Shayeann Day-Wilson 3 in overtime, helping LSU win 94-88.

Gilbert was a key contributor for LSU off the bench. She finished the season with a season-high 25 points on 9-12 shooting, coming within one point of tying her career high. She also had four assists.

“This kid was in tears after the game and it’s her journey, it’s her journey and what it means to her,” Coach Mulkey said. “We’re definitely glad she’s at LSU. She listens, she wants to do good, and when you make a contribution like she did for our team, she should have tears of joy.”

Williams scored her 32 points in an efficient 12:18. She was 5-9 from behind the arc.

Aneesah Morrow’s double-double streak ended with just 8 points. But the country’s leading rebounder did what she does on the glass and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds.

Stanford, the nation’s top three-point percentage, went 6-for-13 from distance in the first half. In the second half, the Cardinal cooled off from the outside and finished the game shooting 30 percent from deep, but Stanford hurt LSU with backdoor cuts that gave it the edge. The Cardinal outscored the Tigers 42-22.

Nunu Agara led Stanford with 29 points and 13 rebounds. In total, four Cardinals finished in double figures.

LSU limited its turnovers to just four and forced 15 Stanford turnovers. LSU doubles Stanford in the number of points scored, 14-7

LSU went down early in the first quarter as Stanford took a 10-3 lead just 3 minutes into the game. Stanford continued to build on a strong first quarter and the Tigers were forced to call a timeout trailing 16-5. Shayeann Day-Wilson was able to hit a three-pointer out of the timeout to give the LSU offense a much-needed spark. Stanford’s offense remained strong behind the arc as the Cardinal posted an impressive 5-7 mark from three games in the first quarter. At the end of the first quarter, LSU trailed Stanford 28-15. Forward Nunu Agara scored 10 points on 4-6 shooting and added 6 rebounds to lead the Cardinals. All 15 of LSU’s first quarter points came from Williams, Day-Wilson and Johnson, who each scored 5 points in the first period.

Williams dropped a mid-range jumper early in the third quarter for the Tigers. LSU forced three turnovers on three consecutive possessions to go on a 9-0 run that brought the Tigers back into the game midway through the second quarter. Both offenses experienced dry spells in the second quarter and the score remained 34-27 with Stanford leading at the media timeout. Gilbert scored on back-to-back possessions after the timeout, cutting Stanford’s lead to three points with three minutes left in the half. The Tigers continued the trend of playing the hot hand as Morrow managed to adjust to the paint and score four consecutive points to keep LSU within striking distance. The Tigers stormed back in the second quarter, outscoring the Cardinals 22-11 and taking a 39-37 lead into halftime. Williams led the Tigers at halftime with 13 points on 5-8 shooting. The Tigers were also strong defensively, winning the turnover battle 9-2 in the first half.

Johnson came up from mid-range and dropped the jump shot to get LSU going in the second half. Stanford then went on a 6-0 run that increased LSU’s deficit to 9 points. The Tigers continued to fight for the lead as Johnson hit a whopping three-pointer at the buzzer that sent the PMAC crowd into a frenzy. Williams created scoring opportunities on consecutive possessions and drained two mid-range jumpers to cut Stanford’s lead to four points. The Tigers trailed the Cardinals 52-57 at the end of the third quarter. Johnson played a crucial third quarter as the junior scored seven points on 3-6 shooting during the period. Stanford was again led by Agara with 5 points in the quarter.

Johnson scored the first five points of the fourth quarter for the Tigers on a mid-range shot and a three-pointer, sparking LSU’s offense. After an Agara three-pointer, Gilbert immediately responded with an and-1 layup where she converted the free throw. Stanford’s offense continued to put up points in the fourth quarter, forcing the Tigers into a comeback offense. Williams found the nylon from the middle distance and reduced the lead to 3 points. Stanford was able to score with a three-pointer, which made LSU’s comeback less likely. After a roller coaster ride in the fourth quarter, LSU stabilized the game and forced a Stanford turnover to keep possession. As time expired, Williams managed to convert a mid-range jumper to tie the game and send the Tigers into overtime.

Williams converted a three-pointer on the first possession of overtime to give LSU its first lead since the first minute of the game, when the Tigers led 3-0. The Tigers were able to force a miss and responded with free throws from Kailyn Gilbert to extend the lead to four with 2:30 left. Gilbert hit another mid-range jumper to give LSU an 88-82 lead within two minutes. Williams hit a three-pointer late in the shot clock to secure the LSU victory with 22.4 seconds left. The Tigers were able to control the clock and finish the game 94-88.