LSU women win big over Florida, setting up likely top-five clash with South Carolina

The LSU women’s basketball team will be undefeated when it meets No. 2 South Carolina.

On Sunday, the 80-63 road win that the No. 5 Tigers (20-0, 5-0) picked up o over Florida assured them of that fact.

Mikaylah Williams, Flau’jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow teamed up to build a 17-0 fourth-quarter run that propelled LSU to its lopsided win. Johnson kicked off the scoring spree by hitting an open jumper, and Morrow punctuated it by converting an easy layup. In the time between, the Tigers shot 5 of 6 from the field, while forcing Florida to miss its first six shots of the quarter.

“Listen, when you can empty (the bench) and play everybody on your team with five minutes to go in the game and you’re up 28,” coach Kim Mulkey said, “knowing what we face next, that’s a good day.”

LSU played two tight Southeastern Conference games before they traveled to Gainesville, Florida, to face the Gators (11-9, 2-4). A last-second shot lifted the Tigers to a two-point road win over No. 15 Tennessee on Jan. 9, then a late surge of offense propelled them to a six-point home victory over Vanderbilt on Monday.

On Sunday, LSU won by a more comfortable margin.

And this time, its defense keyed the win.

Florida converted just 9 of the 28 field goals it attempted across the second and third quarters, a stretch of play that LSU won 44-27. The Tigers forced the Gators into 24 turnovers, and converted them into 35 points. Overall, Florida shot just 38% from the field, becoming the second SEC team this season to hit less than 40% of its shots against LSU.

In the third quarter, the Tigers played most of their offense through Williams, the star sophomore who finished with 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting and eight rebounds. Morrow chipped in 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting and 10 rebounds, and Johnson added 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting, but the LSU bench notched only 11 points, finishing with fewer than 12 for the second game in a row.

Freshman guard Liv McGill led Florida with 21 points and six assists. Freshman Me’Arah O’Neal, the daughter of LSU great Shaquille O’Neal, grabbed seven rebounds in 15 minutes.

“One thing that we did do good, and we’ve improved today was turnovers,” Mulkey said. “We only had nine for the entire game and for a while, there it was only six, so that’s a big part of why you extended the lead like we did. You’re getting yourself a shot every time.”

LSU started the game with a quick 7-0 run. But then Florida called a timeout, started to dribble penetrate, hit shots and slow down the Tigers’ halfcourt offense with a zone defense. In the first half, LSU trailed by as many as six points and entered halftime with just a 37-33 lead.

Then the Tigers played sharper defense that was a building block that ignited their transition offense, fueled their dominant second half and added another victory atop their now 20-game win streak — already the second-best start in program history. LSU attempted 14 more field goals than Florida, while also scoring 40 points in the paint and 26 on the fast break.

Mulkey has now led her team to at least 20 wins in each of her 25 seasons as a head coach.

Meanwhile, Morrow posted her 92nd career double-double, tying her with former Oregon forward Jillian Alleyne for the second-most in NCAA Division I history. LSU’s win over Florida was the 123rd game of her career.

Next, the Tigers will hit the road to play the most-anticipated game of their regular season.

That matchup, a likely top-five showdown with No. 2 South Carolina, will tip off at 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN.

Ohio State lost 62-59 to Penn State on Sunday, which means that LSU and No. 1 UCLA are the last two undefeated Division I teams left. The Bruins are one of only two squads that have defeated the Gamecocks over the past three seasons.

LSU is 0-4 against South Carolina under Mulkey.

“We’re gonna enjoy this victory today,” Mulkey said. “Any victory on the road in our league is an accomplishment, but we know what we face next, a tremendous challenge to play the defending champions and do it at their place.”