LSU sets new program mark for points in SEC game with rout of Florida

BATON ROUGE — LSU set a program record for points scored in a SEC game with a 106-66 victory over Florida on Sunday in the PMAC to end a two-game slide.

“I thought you saw a team today that brought it,” Coach Kim Mulkey said. “It wasn’t smooth, it started out rough, but they brought another level of intensity. They had a fire in their belly defensively. I was very pleased with how they responded.”

LSU had six players score in double-figures, led by Hailey Van Lith who had a season-high 21 points and Mikaylah Williams who matched with her own 21 points. Van Lith was an efficient 6-11 from the field and 9-10 from the charity stripe. She also grabbed a season-high 7 rebounds. Williams was 9-12, also scoring at an efficient level including 3-5 from long range.

“I think it’s mostly just the attitude and competitiveness that I bring to the table,” Van Lith said. “It will help our team. I have to bring it or we aren’t going to reach our potential. So it’s on me to continue to do that.”

The double-double duo of Aneesah Morrow and Angel Reese combined for 32 points and 30 of LSU’s 59 rebounds. Morrow earned her 14th double-double of the season with 18 points and a season-high 20 boards. Morrow added a pair of threes and two blocks. Reese scored 14 points and hauled in 10 boards for her 13th double-double this season. This marked the 10th time this season LSU has had multiple players record double-doubles in the same game. Aalyah Del Rosario, who scored 11 points, was one rebound shy of her own double-double.

LSU’s 106 points were the most scored in a SEC game in program history, surpassing the 103 points LSU scored at Alabama in 2004.

Aliyah Matharu led the Gators with 20 points on 7-22 from the field and 6-6 from the foul line. Matharu was 0-6 from deep but earned 5 steals. Leilani Correa was the only other Gator to reach double digits with 13, about 12 shy of what she’s been averaging in conference games.

LSU was dominant rebounding the ball with a +25 rebound margin, including 18 offensive rebounds that led to 24 second chance points. Defensively, LSU hit its marks of holding opponents below 68 points and below 39.9-percent shooting the ball.

“We did have good perimeter defense today,” Coach Mulkey said. “I thought we had good post help when perimeter people attempted to get by us. The bye-week helped us focus on ourselves.”

The Tigers will be on the road on Thursday in Nashville to take on Vanderbilt at 8 p.m. CT on the SEC Network. Coach Mulkey has won at least 20 games in every season she has been a head coach and can reach that mark for this season on Thursday.

Florida jumped out to a 6-2 lead as Matharu scored four straight off of two LSU turnovers. The Tigers got hot on a 10-0 run and forced a Gator timeout with 4:26 remaining in the quarter. LSU used its first quarter defense to build its lead as the Gators went 29-percent from the field through the first 10 minutes. The Tiger defense forced six turnovers and two shot clock violations. Van Lith went 2-2 from the foul line to end the quarter on a 7-0 LSU run and take a 24-11 lead into the second.

The Tigers carried their momentum over into the second quarter to extend the lead to 25 at the first media timeout. Williams had 2 big three-pointers to spark the Tiger offense while the LSU defense held Florida to 4-11 from the field in the first five minutes. Poa led LSU with 7 points in the second quarter as the Tigers outscored the Gators 30-17. LSU went 12-17 for 70.6 percent from the field in the second to build up a 54-28 lead before the break.

LSU held on to its lead to start the third despite a couple of Gator buckets early on. The Tigers went on a 10-0 run to move their lead past the 30-point margin for the first time. After going four minutes without a free throw, Matharu broke the Gator skid with just under four minutes to play in the quarter. Van Lith scored LSU’s last 6 points to finish the quarter and enter the fourth with a season high 20 points.

The Tigers continued to cruise along as they built upon the lead to as many as 45 halfway through the quarter. Florida continued to struggle from the field as the Tiger defense applied pressure all afternoon. The Gators went 0-7 from deep in a late effort to cut into the LSU lead. The Tigers remained comfortable in the final five minutes and picked up a 106-66 victory.

Flau’Jae Johnson and Aalyah Del Rosario were the other two Tigers to reach double figures with 10 and 11, respectively. Del Rosario was just one board shy of her second rebound

Aliyah Matharu led the Gators with 20 points on 7-22 from the field and 6-6 from the foul line. Matharu was 0-6 from deep but earned 5 steals. Leilani Correa was the only other Gator to reach double digits with 13. Correa leads the SEC in scoring with 25.7 points per game.

LSU shot 49-percent on 37-75 from the field compared to Florida’s 35-percent on 24-68. The Tiger’s 49-percent is the highest shooting percentage by LSU since the conference opener against Missouri. The Tiger’s 47-percent from the three-point line is the highest since playing Texas A&M just under a month ago. LSU went 25-34 from the free throw line after only making 16 free throws on its last two games.

The Tigers had 24 second chance points compared to Florida’s 4. LSU out rebounded the Gators 59-34 and outscored Florida 42-30 inside the paint. LSU’s defense held Florida to just 4 made three-pointers and forced 20 turnovers.

Florida jumped out to a 6-2 lead as Matharu scored four straight off of two LSU turnovers. The Tigers got hot on a 10-0 run and forced a Gator timeout with 4:26 remaining in the quarter. LSU used its first quarter defense to build its lead as the Gators went 29-percent from the field through the first 10 minutes. The Tiger defense forced six turnovers and two shot clock violations. Van Lith went 2-2 from the foul line to end the quarter on a 7-0 LSU run and take a 24-11 lead into the second.

The Tigers carried their momentum over into the second quarter to extend the lead to 25 at the first media timeout. Williams had 2 big three-pointers to spark the Tiger offense while the LSU defense held Florida to 4-11 from the field in the first five minutes. Poa led LSU with 7 points in the second quarter as the Tigers outscored the Gators 30-17. LSU went 12-17 for 70.6 percent from the field in the second to build up a 54-28 lead before the break.

LSU held on to its lead to start the third despite a couple of Gator buckets early on. The Tigers went on a 10-0 run to move their lead past the 30-point margin for the first time. After going four minutes without a free throw, Matharu broke the Gator skid with just under four minutes to play in the quarter. Van Lith scored LSU’s last 6 points to finish the quarter and enter the fourth with a season high 20 points.

The Tigers continued to cruise along as they built upon the lead to as many as 45 halfway through the quarter. Florida continued to struggle from the field as the Tiger defense applied pressure all afternoon. The Gators went 0-7 from deep in a late effort to cut into the LSU lead. The Tigers remained comfortable in the final five minutes and picked up a 106-66 victory.