The 2024-25 LSU women’s basketball team took the court for the first time on Thursday night in an exhibition matchup against Xavier (New Orleans) at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, and it was an impressive debut.
The Tigers rolled against the NAIA opponent, beating the Gold Nuggets 114-53.
It was a huge game for junior star [autotag]Flau’Jae Johnson[/autotag], whose 30-point, 10-rebound double-double paced the team. [autotag]Aneesah Morrow[/autotag] also recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds of her own.
LSU’s newcomers made a solid first impression as well, with three of them scoring in double figures. Transfers [autotag]Jersey Wolfenbarger[/autotag] and [autotag]Mjracle Sheppard[/autotag] each scored 12 points, while [autotag]Jada Richard[/autotag], the top player in Louisiana and most highly touted member of LSU’s 2024 signing class, scored 14 points in her first appearance with the purple and gold.
The Tigers shot 58.2% from the field in a prolific offensive performance, including a 6 of 13 mark from three-point range, where LSU struggled last season. The defense impressed against a lower-division opponent, holding Xavier to 34% shooting while forcing 33 turnovers that resulted in a whopping 47 points for LSU going the other way.
It was the kind of showing the Tigers wanted to see in the exhibition, and they’ll look for a similar result when they host LSU-Alexandria next Wednesday. Coach Kim Mulkey’s team opens the regular season against Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 4.
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