Latest double-double by LSU’s Reese overwhelms Vandy

NASHVILLE – Angel Reese and Alexis Morris combined for 44 points as the No. 5 basketball team LSU women’s (26-1, 14-1 SEC) Vanderbilt (12-17, 3-12 SEC) at Memorial Gymnasium on Thursday with 82 points defeated -63 for second place in the SEC.

Reese, the six-time and reigning SEC Player of the Week, scored 23 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for her 26th double-double of the season. Reese had a double-double at halftime for the tenth time this season.

Morris had 21 points and led the team with 5 assists. LaDahzia Williams recorded 13 points and 6-8 shooting and had 8 rebounds. Jasmine Carson made three threes in the win.

Vanderbilt’s Ciaja Harbison led the Commodores with 21 points, 5 three-pointers and 5 rebounds. The only other Commodore to hit doubles was Jada Brown at ten.

The Tigers dominated the color, outclassing the Commodores 46-16 on the inside. Freshman forward Sa’Myah Smith played well off the bench for LSU, scoring 8 points to contribute to LSU’s points in the paint.

LSU jumped out to a 17-point lead at halftime, but Vanderbilt started early in the third quarter and came back to six before the Tigers regained the lead.

“I’m happy with the first half,” said coach Kim Mulkey. “In the first half we talked, communicated, helped the helper, helped and recovered – lots of great things in the first half. Then you come out in the third quarter and it’s the exact opposite.”

The Tigers have one regular season game left as they are scheduled to host Mississippi State Sunday at 5 p.m. CT on the SEC network before preparing for the postseason. With LSU’s win Thursday and Tennessee’s loss to South Carolina, the Tigers secured second place in the conference for the second straight year. LSU would need to win on Sunday and South Carolina would need to fall to Georgia to secure a share of the SEC title.

“Two years in a row we’ve finished second in the league to the National Champion (South Carolina),” said Coach Mulkey. “We have to acknowledge that. I have to acknowledge that. One day our goal is to become champions.”

During Thursday’s game, the NCAA tournament selection committee announced its final top-16 seed ahead of the March 12 selection. The committee had again seeded the Tigers as the No. 2 seed.

Three points from Morris and Poa put LSU to an 11-6 lead five minutes into the contest on Thursday. LSU held the five-point lead into the first media timeout despite only connecting on one of their last 7 shots. After the break, the Tigers went on a 7-0 run and kept Vanderbilt scoreless for three minutes. Sacha Washington hit a turnaround jumper in the closing seconds to make it a seven-point game and end the opening quarter with an 18-11 lead for LSU.

LSU made three triples and held the Commodores at 1-8 from the deep for the first ten minutes of action.

A minute into the second quarter, a three-pointer by Ryanne Allen put Vanderbilt within six. The Tigers responded with a 7-0 run in under a minute to put a 13-point lead over the Commodores. Just before the media timeout, Carson hit back-to-back triples to improve LSU’s lead to 17 with 4:38 to play before halftime. The Tigers finished with an 11-4 run to go 40-23 at halftime.

Reese finished the half with 10 points and 10 boards to earn her 26th double-double of the season. It was also the tenth time she reached a double-double by halftime this season.

The Tigers shot 46 percent from the field and 46 percent from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes of the game. LSU rebounded against Vanderbilt by ten and scored half of his points from the paint.

Carson made her third triple of the night to open the third and give LSU their first 20-point lead of the game. Vanderbilt wasn’t going to walk away easily, as the Commodores went on a 7-0 run midway through the quarter to get within 9 of LSU. The Tiger would hit the 50 point mark just before the media timeout when Vandy was 12 behind. Back-to-back threes by the Commodores took the lead to six with just under four minutes left in the third. The Tigers responded with a 10-0 run to extend their lead back into double digits and went into fourth with a 60-45 lead.

The Tigers were outplayed 22-20 in the third quarter and Vanderbilt forced 7 LSU turnovers versus the Commodores 2, both within the last minute. Morris led the third quarter by 8 points, with Reese trailing by 7 points. The duo scored the team’s final 15 points in the third quarter.

LSU carried its momentum into the final quarter as it extended its lead, opening with an 8-2 run to take a 21-point lead. Vanderbilt made four threes in the fourth but failed to stop the Tiger’s offensive charge. Morris added another 8 points in the fourth and Reese and Williams each scored six points. LSU went from the field in 4 of their last 4, ending with a 19-point win.