By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
OXFORD, Miss. – LSU’s Mikaylah Williams swiped the ball from Ole Miss’ Snudda Collins near the Rebels’ top of the key and took off upcourt with nothing between her and a layup.
Then, the freshman guard from Bossier City’s Parkway High made a decision.
Maybe it was because the No. 7 Tigers’ 13-point halftime lead disappeared in the first six minutes of the second half as LSU missed 13 of its first 14 shots of the third quarter.
Maybe it was because Williams had already swished her first three 3-point attempts of the game.
Maybe it was because she had done it hundreds of times shooting alone in the solitude of an empty gym.
But in the first SEC road game of her career, Williams eschewed a gimme layup. Instead, she pulled up at the 3-point line and confidently drilled in a trey in a 9-0 run that righted LSU’s sinking ship and sent the Tigers eventually sailing home with an 84-73 victory.
“I put a lot of reps in my game,” Williams said, “and I know my teammates and my coaches have confidence in me and that I’m allowed to shoot that shot. I’m just grateful to have that freedom.”
The largest crowd ever to watch an Ole Miss women’s home game – 9,074 – saw the Rebels battle back from a 50-37 halftime deficit for a 53-52 lead with 4:19 in the third quarter before LSU edged ahead 54-53 setting the stage for Williams’ cold-blooded 3-pointer.
“That’s a freshman who’s not afraid of the big time,” said LSU head coach Kim Mulkey of Williams, who scored 20 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and had a team-high 4 steals. “I’m glad that 3 went in on that fastbreak. I guess that’s the new generation. They want to shoot the 3 instead of going in for a layup.”
It was the 15th straight victory for defending national champ LSU (15-1, 2-0 SEC) since the preseason No. 1 Tigers lost their season opener to Colorado in Las Vegas. Ole Miss, coming off last season’s Sweet 16 appearance after upsetting No. 1 Stanford in a second-round game, dropped to 11-4 overall and 1-1 in the SEC. The Rebels were led by guard Marquesha Davis, scoring a game-high 24 points.
Forward Angel Reese and guard Flau’jae Johnson, the only returning starters from last season’s national title team, scored 21 and 16 points respectively. They combined for 10 of LSU’s 17 fourth-quarter points when the Lady Tigers held the Rebels without a field goal for the first 4½ minutes.
“LSU is a really good team,” Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “I don’t want to see what they are going to look like in March. Their championship residue still seeps out of their veins, and they definitely have a swagger about them that carries them throughout.”
The Lady Tigers entered the game averaging a nation-leading 94.9 points per game. Ole Miss ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense allowing 52.4 points, but gave up 50 in the first half to LSU.
“We gave up 50 points in the first half, that’s not us, that’s not Ole Miss basketball,” Ole Miss guard Madison Scott said. “LSU is a great team, we knew they would score. We didn’t have the will, the grit.”
LSU returns home Thursday to face Texas A&M at 7 p.m. The Aggies (13-2, 1-1 SEC) hammered Auburn 66-44 on Sunday. A&M leads the nation in scoring defense allowing 47.5 points per game.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com