In a thrilling showdown, it was Kailyn Gilbert who rose to the occasion for No. 6 LSU, knocking down a clutch left-handed shot in traffic with .9 seconds left on the clock to secure a heart-stopping 89-87 victory over No. 16 Tennessee on Thursday night.
“She’s made several of those shots through the course of the games this year,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said.
The Lady Vols (13-2, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) had a chance to force overtime but Zee Spearman’s five-foot jumper fell short, adding another close loss to their record against top-10 teams in the last five days.
Aneesah Morrow stole the spotlight for LSU (18-0, 3-0), dominating with 23 points and an impressive 21 rebounds. Gilbert also had a strong showing with 22 points, while Flau’Jae Johnson contributed 20 points and Mikaylah Williams added 16.
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For Tennessee, Jewel Spear led the way with 25 points and Talaysia Cooper had 24 as the Lady Vols fought back from an 18-point deficit in the second quarter. Ruby Whitehorn and Samara Spencer each scored 10 points for the Lady Vols.
Morrow made her presence known early, notching a double-double by halftime with 19 points and 10 rebounds, helping give LSU a narrow 46-39 lead at the break. Johnson also stepped up with 11 points for the Tigers.
Key Moment:
With under two minutes remaining, LSU trailed 84-82 when Johnson converted a three-point play to give the Tigers the lead. After two key defensive stops, Williams hit a layup to extend the lead to 87-84.
Key Stat:
In an unusual strategy, LSU only attempted eight three-pointers, making just one.
Next Up:
LSU will host Vanderbilt on Monday as Tennessee hits the road to face Arkansas on Sunday.
Gilbert, who stole the show for the Tigers, hit her second game-winning shot of the season in a pressure-packed moment. The transfer guard calmly isolated her defender, drove to the lane, and hit a beautiful left-handed looper of a shot for the go-ahead basket with less than one second remaining.
Tennessee came into the game known for its high-volume three-point shooting (36.5 attempts per game) and fast pace of play, but they had yet to face a powerhouse like LSU this season. On Sunday, Tennessee nearly overcame a 19-point deficit against No. 10 Oklahoma but fell short in an 87-86 loss.
In this matchup, Tennessee struggled to find their rhythm from beyond the arc and on offensive rebounds, while also struggling to contain LSU’s fast breaks. Despite trimming the lead down to single digits by halftime and making several runs throughout the game, they were unable to overcome the Tigers’ balanced attack led by Morrow’s double-double and Gilbert’s clutch performance.
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