Preseason No. 1 LSU women’s basketball began its national title defense on Thursday night with the first of two exhibition games, and East Texas Baptist was no match.
LSU easily dispatched its Division III opponent, winning 99-26 in a game that spotlighted practically the entire roster.
The starting lineup featured all newcomers with transfers [autotag]Hailey Van Lith[/autotag] and [autotag]Aneesah Morrow[/autotag] as well as true freshmen [autotag]Mikaylah Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Janae Kent[/autotag] and [autotag]Aalyah Del Rosario[/autotag].
All made their share of plays, with Williams, Kent and Morrow totaling 10 points. The former two also neared double-doubles with nine and eight rebounds, respectively. Van Lith nearly scored in double figures in her LSU debut, as well, finishing with nine points.
Despite coming off the bench, it was the returning players that would star in this one.
An Exhibition Victory
LSU 99, ETBU 26 pic.twitter.com/k63hfC8j3p
— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) October 27, 2023
[autotag]Flau’Jae Johnson[/autotag] led the team with 18 points, while [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] scored 17 while adding seven rebounds. [autotag]Sa’Myah Smith[/autotag] registered the team’s only double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
LSU’s defense smothered ETBU, forcing 39 turnovers that resulted in 32 points for the Tigers. They also won the rebounding battle 51-34.
While the dominating win was a nice way to kick things off, a Division III opponent is far from a real test for a team that enters the year as the favorite to repeat as national champions.
LSU will kick off its regular season against a ranked Colorado team on Nov. 6, but in the meantime, it will have one more exhibition against Loyola (New Orleans) next Thursday night.
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