LSU entered the 2023-24 as the consensus favorite to repeat as national champions, but the preseason No. 1 Tigers were humbled by No. 20 Colorado.
The Buffaloes jumped on coach Kim Mulkey’s team early, taking a 38-32 lead to the locker room after LSU led following the first quarter. They only pulled away in the second half and ultimately won 92-78, shocking the defending champions in Las Vegas.
It wasn’t a banner night offensively for the Tigers, which shot just 43.9% from the field. True freshman highly touted recruit [autotag]Mikaylah Williams[/autotag] was the star, leading the team with 17 points. [autotag]Sa’Myah Smith[/autotag] (16 points), [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] (15), and [autotag]Hailey Van Lith[/autotag] (14) scored in double figures with Reese recording a 12-rebound double-double.
It was a quiet night for [autotag]Aneesah Morrow[/autotag] (six points) and [autotag]Flau’Jae Johnson[/autotag] (3).
LSU won the turnover battle 21-19 and the rebounding battle 39-37, but it allowed Colorado to shoot north of 50% and gave up big games to Frida Formann (27 points) and Aaronette Vonleh (24).
Whether it was the expectations getting the better of this team or the expectations themselves being misplaced, it’s clear LSU has a lot to work on if it wants to get back to the mountaintop this spring.
That starts with the home opener on Thursday night against Charlotte.
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