Mikaylah Williams leads LSU to miraculous win over Stanford | LSU

The LSU women’s basketball team faced its first loss of the season Thursday against a Stanford team that scrambled the lane and caught fire from 3-point range.

Then an unlikely comeback ensured they remained undefeated.

In the final seconds of the fourth quarter, with Stanford leading 80-75, Kailyn Gilbert hit a miraculous 3-pointer, Flau’jae Johnson forced a turnover and Mikaylah Williams sank a tough, fading free-throw line jumper to tie it Even the game. Send it to overtime.

From there, the No. 5 Tigers (10-0) took the lead for the first time and outscored Stanford by six points to win the SEC/ACC Challenge 94-88 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Williams, a sophomore, finished the game with 32 points and nine rebounds after converting 12 of 18 field goal attempts and 5 of 9 shots from long range. She scored 15 of her points in the fourth quarter and overtime.

In regular time, the Cardinals (7-2) shot 49% from the field and 35% from 3-point range. It also limited LSU to just 12 points on the fast break, 18 points in the paint and 12 free throw attempts. These advantages allowed Stanford to build a 15-point lead in the first quarter, a lead that LSU narrowed in the final three quarters.

Early in the game, Stanford employed a 3-2 zone defense that shut down LSU’s half-court offense. The Tigers missed eight of their first ten field goal attempts, and on the other hand, they allowed the Cardinal to not only hit five of their first seven attempts from beyond the arc, but also five second-chance points on three offensive rebounds to achieve. Stanford led 28-13 at the end of the first quarter.

LSU cut the lead to two once at the end of the second quarter and again in the final minute of the third quarter. Each time, Stanford rebuilt its cushion.

In a crucial portion of the fourth quarter, Cardinal guard Elena Bosgana drove past Johnson for a layup. Then 6-foot-2 guard Brooke Demetre found a shot past Gilbert. When Jzaniya Harriel sank a three-pointer on the next possession, the lead increased from three points to a more comfortable lead of eight points.

At that point, it appeared LSU no longer had a chance to respond.

But Williams hit one last regulation shot to breathe new life into the Tigers.

As the night progressed, Williams found open space in the halfcourt and converted most of her open jumpers, elevating the LSU offense through the cold portions of the first half.

LSU also received an offensive boost from Gilbert, who scored 25 points off the bench. She cut Stanford’s lead to two with a mid-range jump shot she hit in the final seconds of the first half, and Mulkey left her on the court to start the second half in place of redshirt sophomore Sa’Myah Smith, who had zero points and three rebounds.

Senior Aneesah Morrow grabbed 16 rebounds but only put up eight points against the tight defense Stanford played inside. Johnson, a junior, scored 21 points after hitting 8 of 20 field goal attempts.

Sophomore forward Nunu Agara led Stanford with 29 points on 12 of 16 shooting. Demetre scored 19 points after hitting three of 10 shots from distance.

On Thursday, Stanford traveled to the PMAC for the first time and played LSU for the third time. The Tigers won their first two meetings, one in 1981 and one in the 2006 Elite Eight.

The Cardinal is in its first season under coach Kate Paye, a former Stanford player and longtime assistant who was named head coach after legendary coach Tara VanDerveer retired at the end of last season, her 38th at Stanford .

LSU next faces Grambling in Williams’ hometown of Bossier City on Sunday at 2 p.m.