LSU Women Survive Scare From 1-Win Mizzou, Now It’s No. 19 Tennessee On Super Bowl Sunday

TIGER RAG NEWS SERVICES

No. 6 LSU struggled with one of the worst teams in the Southeastern Conference at Missouri Thursday night, but gutted it out late in the third quarter and managed a 71-60 win.

Missouri (12-13, 1-9 SEC) took a 35-34 lead with 5:53 left in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Grace Slaughter and took a 38-36 advantage on an Ashton Judd 3-pointer with 4:43 to go as LSU’s offense struggled. Mikaylah Williams’ 3-pointer, however, put LSU ahead to stay at 41-38 with 3:43 left.

And before you knew it, LSU (24-1, 9-1 SEC) led 51-39 at the end of the period and coasted in the fourth quarter for the win.

“We played at their pace,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. “Just didn’t have any get up and go. We couldn’t get by anybody in transition. But it’s games like this that we’ve got to grind out.”

Flau’Jae Johnson led the Tigers with 19 points with 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point range and seven rebounds. Williams added 16 with five assists and hit 3 of 4 from 3-point range. Aneesah Morrow scored 13 with a game-high 14 rebounds and four steals. Mjracle Sheppard added 11 off the bench with seven rebounds.

“As we continue on, we’ve got to get more out of our bench and give us some juice,” Mulkey said. “Mjracle did her part tonight.”

Slaughter led Missouri with 18 points with 2-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc, and Judd added 17 with four 3-pointers in nine attempts.

The Tigers now step back into the national spotlight in a Super Bowl Sunday appetizer against No. 19 Tennessee (17-5, 10-3) at 3 p.m. on ESPN, leading into the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles 87 miles away in the Superdome in New Orleans at 5:30 p.m. on FOX.

Tennessee upset No. 5 Connecticut, 80-76, in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Thursday night.

Safe to say Kim Caldwell has her signature win. Tennessee upsets UConn 80-76, Lady Vols’ first win over Huskies since 2007. pic.twitter.com/OraPgoexDt

— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) February 7, 2025

“I did not know that,” Mulkey said on the LSU Radio Network’s postgame interview. “Did they? So, they’ll be sky high on Super Bowl Sunday. They’re good.”

The then-No. 6 Tigers won at then-No. 16 Tennessee, 89-87, on Jan. 9.

“I hope our fans show up,” Mulkey said. “I know a lot of them will be at the Super Bowl.”