Before Sunday’s game, LSU coach Kim Mulkey said, “Sometimes you just got go with your gut.” She made the comment amid speculation on whether to deploy her smaller lineup, the same approach that helped LSU triumph 89-87 over Tennessee last month in Knoxville.
Reserve guard Kailyn Gilbert, who hit a last-second left-handed scoop in the lane to lift the Tigers in that contest, had since struggled, converting only eight of her last 53 shots.
But in Sunday’s PMAC matchup, Gilbert found her stride when LSU needed her most.
Gilbert the small came up huge. Again.
She scored 23 points, including two crucial free throws in the final seconds, to lead No. 6 LSU to an 82-77 victory over No. 19 Tennessee.
With the win, LSU tied for first in the Southeastern Conference with Texas and South Carolina.
“You make decisions, and sometimes they’re good, sometimes they’re bad, sometimes they’re right,” Mulkey said after the game – an historic first for LSU defeating Tennessee twice in one season.
“And I have to tell Coach G (Gary Redus), he kept saying, ‘Put Gilbert back in. Give her a chance.’ And I looked at him and said, ‘You made the right call, my guy.’”
Mikaylah Williams contributed 16 points, Aneesah Morrow recorded 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Flau’Jae Johnson added 12 for the Tigers, who now stand at 25-1 overall and 10-1 in conference play.
For Tennessee, Ruby Whitehorn scored 21 points, Jewel Spears added 19, Talaysia Cooper logged 16, and Zee Spearman finished with 15, as the Lady Vols (17-6, 4-6 SEC) came off an 80-76 win over No. 5 UConn.
Tennessee, known for its reliance on 3-pointers all season, shot 6-for-18 from beyond the arc, while LSU managed 6-for-17.
Before Sunday’s game, about 63% of LSU’s points had come from its core trio of Johnson, Morrow, and Williams.
Midway through the third period, when foul trouble sidelined Morrow and Johnson, Gilbert bolstered LSU’s offense with 15 points in that quarter—including 12 during a decisive 16-10 run in the final 5:18 that boosted LSU to a 62-57 lead at the end of the third.
Tennessee trimmed the margin to 78-76 with 23.9 seconds remaining. Whitehorn fouled Gilbert, who nailed two free throws with 21.8 seconds left. Morrow then hit two free throws to extend LSU’s lead to 82-76 with 13.7 seconds on the clock. Whitehorn made her first free throw with 11 seconds remaining and missed her second, while Morrow’s rebound sealed the win.
Mulkey emphasized the importance of winning conference matchups on home court.
“Well, it’s huge because we’re down to the nuts and bolts of your conference schedule,” she said. “You know, it’s hard to win on the road, so protect your home court. Texas is as hot as they can be – they just beat South Carolina in Austin. We’ve got to go to Austin. So when those games come up that you’re supposed to win, you got to get it. We have it on the board and the team we beat mattered – but we’re supposed to win those games.”
LSU is scheduled to play at No. 4 Texas next Sunday at 2 p.m. Central, and Tennessee will host Auburn on Thursday.
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