No. 11 LSU women's basketball off to best start in 16 years, downs Lamar for 10 straight wins
BATON ROUGE — Sometimes a 10-day layoff can build some rust.
No. 11 LSU looked stiff and dazed early Wednesday against Lamar, trailing for the first nine minutes before winning 88-42 at Pete Maravich Assembly Center for its 10th straight win to open the 2022-23 season.
The Tigers' 10-0 start is the program's best start since the 2005-06 season.
Coach Kim Mulkey said leading up to the game that the Cardinals (4-5) were not going to be slouches as they pushed SEC rival and top-20 Arkansas deep into the fourth quarter last week.
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Lamar came out with more intensity on both ends, forcing the Tigers into two quick turnovers, limited them to below 30% shooting while making 40% of its own shots in the first quarter.
"Sometimes give credit to the opponent," Mulkey said. " I thought the second quarter we executed some things, and we got the ball to Angel Reese."
Angel Reese puts her skills on full display
LSU's talented sophomore big was racing down the court in the second quarter and Flau'jae Johnson hit her with the outlet pass. As Reese came down with the ball, she took one bounce before hitting a Lamar defender with a spin move en route to make the layup on the fastbreak.
Reese peppered the crowd with spin moves, Euro steps and traditional post moves with required strength to get fouled and finish. She had 21 points by halftime and finished with her 10th straight double-double to open the season at 32 points, 15 rebounds.
The 6-foot-4 forward became the first LSU women's player to log at least 10 straight double-doubles since LSU legend Sylvia Fowles did it back during the 2006-07 season.
"It's feels really good to be named with one of the best post players ever to play the game," Reese said. "I'm really excited. Being at LSU, I've been able to accomplish a lot of things, but I couldn't do it without my coaches or teammates."
Kateri Poole pushing for bigger role as SEC play draws near
It's taken the Ohio State transfer some time to find her role. But she has found it as LSU's sixth woman, and she is flourishing.
Poole finished with her highest plus-minus of the season at 37, third-highest on the team in just 23 minutes of action, and while her scoring numbers won't wow you against Lamar – just three points – it was the other plays where she affected the game. The sophomore had seven assists, three steals and, perhaps more importantly, she brought a massive jolt off the bench early when the Tigers needed it.
"She was very good defensively, she got the ball where it needed to go, she just gave us a spark," Mulkey said. "I like her coming off the bench as a spark, but I'm not ever going to say that my lineup will not change. She, Alexis (Morris) and (Last-Tear) Poa are the three that I use at point the most.
"Kateri has experience, this is her third year in college. Kateri has a body where she can bang with you a little bit. She can play multiple positions on the perimeter. Starting doesn't matter. Her minutes are probably as much as where the starters are."
LSU's bench getting thinner?
Freshman forward Sa'Myah Smith exited in the third quarter with an apparent leg injury. She gingerly walked off the court.
"She got hit on her (iliotibial band), nothing injured or anything," Mulkey said. "She got clipped ... and it's inflamed from that. She looks to be OK, just got to calm it down."
With depleted numbers at just about every position as it stood, losing Smith for any amount of time, especially with SEC play opening up in a couple of weeks, would hurt LSU. Her prognosis will be worth monitoring.
Behind Reese and senior LaDazhia Williams, there's not much experience for the Tigers with Amani Bartlett, a sophomore, and Alisa Williams, a freshman. Smith did return to the bench midway through the fourth quarter but never checked back into the game.
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU women's basketball tops Lamar for 10th straight win to open season
