Reese ties LSU double-double mark, No. 5 Tigers top MSU

By BRETT MARTEL
AP Sports Writer

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Alexis Morris was unfazed — if not motivated — by seeing her more than half-court basket disallowed as the third quarter expired.

Morris scored 13 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter, Angel Reese had 23 points and 26 rebounds to tie Sylvia Fowles’ LSU record of 27 double-doubles in a season, and the fifth-ranked Tigers topped Mississippi State, 74-59 on Sunday night.

“The shot being waved off probably did give me a little more ammunition, but I’m one of the go-to players,” Morris said. “It’s something I definitely embrace.”

LaDazhia Williams added 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting for the Tigers (27-1, 15-1 SEC), whose regular-season record matched the program’s best, set in the 2004-05 season by a squad starring Seimone Augustus.

Morris and Williams were both seniors playing in their final regular-season home game at LSU, but both took comfort in knowing LSU is virtually guaranteed to be a host site for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

“I want my senior night to be in Dallas,” Morris, a Beaumont, Texas, native said referring to the site of this season’s NCAA Women’s Final Four.

But Morris did note that she nearly gave up playing basketball before transferring to LSU in 2021 for a second stint with coach Kim Mulkey after having left Mulkey’s Baylor program for Texas A&M early in her career.

“I’m just happy I didn’t give up on myself,” Morris said. “Thank you, coach Mulkey, for giving me an opportunity to see this day.”

JerKaila Jordan, a New Orleans native who’s been among the SEC’s most productive players this month, scored 16 for Mississippi State (20-9, 9-7), which had won five of its previous six before visiting an LSU team whose only loss this season came at unbeaten and top-ranked South Carolina.

Mississippi State coach Sam Purcell said he changed his lineup to put more size in the paint in an effort to prevent Reese from dominating in the paint. But Reese still ended up with 10 rebounds on the offensive end and 16 on the defensive end. Reese also hit foul-line and baseline jumpers to go with an array of layups and put-backs.

“No offense to our scout team, but they’re not Angel Reese — and those are some pretty athletic male practice players,” Purcell said. “Angel Reese is special.”

LSU missed all 14 of its shots from 3-point range, but got away with it because of Reese’s and Williams’ productivity in the paint. The Tigers pulled down 21 offensive rebounds and finished with a 24-2 advantage in second-chance points.

“Offensive boards,” Mulkey began. “That’s a big stat, guys.”

Morris and Williams each scored 10 points in the first half and were instrumental in helping the Tigers take a 12-point lead in the second quarter.

Williams’ layup ignited a 10-3 run during which the center added another layup, as well as an offensive rebound that set up Morris’ jumper.

Morris hit two more jump shots during the spurt to make it 36-24.

The Bulldogs scored the final six points of the period, highlighted by Ramani Parker’s 3, and cut it to 36-30 at halftime. But LSU never saw its lead drop below five in the second half and was not threatened down the stretch.

BIG PICTURE

Mississippi State: Did not lead by more than two points and trailed for all of the final three periods in falling to 5-24 all time in Baton Rouge. The Bulldogs have lost the past three meetings.

LSU: Improved to 53-7 since coach Kim Mulkey left Baylor to take over the Tigers before the 2021-22 season. The sellout crowd of 15,721 — an official paid attendance record since the Pete Maravich Assembly Center opened in 1972 — erupted when senior Emily Ward, a Bossier City, Louisiana, native who averages just a few minutes per game, checked into the game for the final minute. They cheered again when she grabbed an offensive rebound.

UP NEXT

Mississippi State: Opens SEC Tournament play in Greenville, South Carolina, as the No. 5 seed on Thursday against the winner of Wednesday’s game between 12th-seeded Vanderbilt and No. 13 seed Texas A&M.

LSU: Has a double bye in the SEC Tournament as the No. 2 seed and opens postseason play in the quarterfinal round on Friday against the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 7-seed Georgia and 10th-seeded Auburn.

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