NCAA Tournament: LSU Handles Business in 73-50 Round One Win Over Hawaii

Kim Mulkey and her LSU Tigers are moving on in the NCAA Tournament after defeating Hawaii 73-50 on Friday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

It was a slow start for the Bayou Bengals, but a masterclass Angel Reese performance propelled the Tigers to a round one victory with the Michigan Wolverines up next.

Here are the instant takeaways from the Tigers’ win over the Rainbow Wahines:

LSU Gets It Done Inside

It was a struggle from three-point range for the Tigers on Friday. After shooting just 1-for-14 from deep, LSU took advantage of their opportunities inside led by All-American forward Angel Reese.

The dominance of Reese is nothing new as she recorded her 29th double-double in 31 games played, but the workload was more than anticipated for the Tigers’ first round matchup. LSU’s inability to knock down triples is something that’ll need to be improved on moving forward. Facing a physically gifted Michigan group next, they’ll need to get production from their guards.

In Friday’s win, Reese totaled 34 points for the Tigers while adding 15 rebounds, three blocks and three steals on the other end of the floor. Once again, her sheer size and strength propelled her to another big night in the PMAC.

Defensive Intensity

LSU started the night forcing five turnovers in five minutes against the Rainbow Wahines. Led by Alexis Morris and Flau’jae Johnson, who couldn’t get into a rhythm offensively, it was their defensive contributions that carried much of the load.

Along with the backcourt tandem handling business, it was Angel Reese (3 blocks) and La’Dazhia Williams (3 blocks) protecting the paint that gave Hawaii fits. A team that can get hot in a hurry from deep, the Tigers forced them to pack the paint where LSU’s size quickly became too much to handle.

Hawaii shot just 31% from the field and 22% from deep on Friday. It was a slow start offensively for the Tigers but a masterclass defensive effort catapulted them to a major round one victory.

Missed Opportunities

Perfection is always expected from the Tigers, and when opportunities are wasted, it comes as a surprise. For LSU, Mulkey’s group struggled to hold onto the basketball at times (10 turnovers) while struggling to find continuity offensively.

As the NCAA Tournament continues, dumping it inside to both Angel Reese and La’Dazhia Williams will only work for so long. Despite the Tigers’ inability to get perimeter shots to fall early, second chance buckets helped ease the pain.

LSU got comfortable in the second half, showing grit and determination in the final 20 minutes, but it will take a complete effort moving forward.

The Tigers will face Michigan on Sunday in the second round as they look to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16.