The No. 7 LSU women’s basketball team overcame its largest halftime deficit of the season Sunday, rallying from a 16-point hole against No. 14 Kentucky on the road, 65-58, behind second-half heroics from Mikaylah Williams and Flau’jae Johnson.
The Tigers, who trailed by a double-digit margin at the break, found inspiration from none other than Kim Mulkey.
But it wasn’t the balling out you might have expected, according to LSU assistant Gary Redus.
“I mean, we needed baskets, but this is what we’ve been preaching to our kids,” said Redus, whose strategy coming off a tough Texas outing had been to urge the team’s best players to step up down the stretch.
In a decisive fourth quarter, Williams ignited the comeback with two pivotal shots. First, she drove hard for a layup over a 6-foot-7 defender before calmly knocking down a three-pointer from the top of the key with just 50 seconds remaining to put LSU ahead, 62-58. Williams finished the game with 24 points, including 15 in the second half, helping the Tigers avoid what might have been their third loss on the road to a ranked opponent this season.
Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks and point guard Georgia Amoore, who previously helped lead Virginia Tech to a Final Four battle with LSU in 2023, watched as the Wildcats’ early momentum evaporated. The Wildcats, who had posted a 16-point lead in the second quarter, struggled to keep pace with LSU’s resurgence. Expectations were high for Kentucky as the duo steered the team to its first 20-win season since 2019-20 with aspirations of finishing among the top four in the Southeastern Conference, but they couldn’t fend off the Tigers’ relentless effort.
LSU’s turnaround was driven by smart ball movement, aggressive defense and adjustments that stifled Amoore’s screen-and-roll plays. The Tigers outscored the Wildcats 23-6 in the third quarter and gradually built a lead that extended to seven points by the start of the final period.
During that stretch, Johnson chipped in 9 of her 13 points while Williams added another 8. Fresh off the bench, Shayeann Day-Wilson returned as a starter and contributed with two baskets and three assists. Morrow, despite being 6-for-20 from the field, posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Johnson also grabbed 13 rebounds.
“Sometimes when those really good players aren’t playing like really good players, they need to be challenged,” Redus said. “And she (Kim Mulkey) went in and calmly challenged Flau’jae to be Flau’jae. And she came out in the second half, and I thought that her energy and effort, especially on the boards. I mean, she finished with 13 rebounds. I think that that energy and effort, it just kind of galvanized the troops. You know, Flau’jae only took one shot the first half. That’s not how she operates. That’s when she knows something’s gotten out of kilter. When she only gets one shot the first half, right? I mean, if you can’t even get shots up, I don’t think you’re playing hard enough. And I think that was the thing with Flau’jae. We expect a lot out of Flau’jae. She was on the national championship team. She’s been a starter for us since she got here. But she just was more active in the second half. She looked like herself.”
Amoore finished with 12 points and 4 assists in the first half but contributed only 4 points and 2 assists in the second. Kentucky’s second-leading scorer, Clara Strack, managed 8 points on 3-of-11 shooting as turnovers and missed opportunities haunted the Wildcats.
LSU struggled in the opening half, shooting just 32% and turning the ball over 10 times, while Kentucky exploited the mistakes by converting four three-pointers and grabbing 11 offensive rebounds to build a 38-26 lead at the break.
The Tigers’ second-half surge not only erased the deficit but also secured a valuable double bye in the SEC Tournament. Their next test comes Thursday night on the road against No. 18 Alabama at 8 p.m.
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