The No. 3 LSU Tigers gymnastics team kicked off their 2024 campaign with a top-25 matchup against the No. 14 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.

Just a year removed from a trip to the NCAA Championships, the Tigers are looking to finish what they started last season. They began their climb back to the championships off on the right foot with a 196.975-196.775 win over the Buckeyes.

The Tigers outscored the Buckeyes in three of four events Friday night. Here's a quick recap of the action:

The Tigers first event of the 2024 seasons was vault. KJ Johnson led off the night for the Tigers with a strong 9.825. Amari Drayton followed with the Tigers second highest score of the event with a 9.925 and Aleah Finnegan went third, posting a 9.875, the third highest score of the event.

Then, in her first event since tearing her achilles last season, Kiya Johnson posted a score of 9.800. Haleigh Bryant, a 2023 WCGA All-American, then anchored the event and capped it off with a 9.950.

Savannah Schoenherr's score of 9.600 was dropped and the Tigers finished the event with a team score of 49.375.

The Buckeyes night started on the bars. Headlined by a 9.875 by Payton Harris, Ohio State finished their first event of the year with a 49.125.

Heading into their second event of the night, the uneven bars, the Tigers led 49.375-49.125.

The Tigers hit the bars for their second event of the night. Alexis Jeffrey led off the bars with a score of 9.900, which was higher than any of the Buckeyes gymnasts achieved in their first rotation and would've been tied for her third highest score in any meet last season.

In her second event of the day, Kiya Johnson pulled off a nearly perfect performance, scoring a 9.925 as the Tigers third leg. Johnson had an abbreviated 2023 campaign, but her 9.925 was better than any score she posted on bars last season.

Haleigh Bryant once again anchored the event and posted the teams best score on bars with a 9.875. The Tigers worst score of the event was a 9.800, which is pretty dang impressive. They finished the bars event with another 49.375, putting their total score at 98.750

Ohio State headed over to vault for their second event. The Buckeyes finished their event with a team score of 49.300 which was highlighted by three straight 9.875's by their third, fourth and fifth leg.

At the end of the second rotation, the Tigers took a 98.750 to 98.425 lead heading to the balance beam.

Alexis Jeffrey once again led off on the Tigers third event, posting a score of 9.775. Sierra Ballard was next up on beam, but fell during her routine en route to a 9.200 score, meaning the Tigers had no more room for error with their final four routines.

Unfortunately for LSU, Konnor McCain fell on the next routine and posted a score of 8.950, which was eventually dropped.

However, Haleigh Bryant, Kiya Johnson and Aleah Finnegan did what they do best and came through when the Tigers need it the most. They finished the event off with scores of 9.925, 9.850 and 9.950 respectively.

The Tigers finished the third rotation with a team score of 48.700 as they headed into their final event, floor.

The Buckeyes third event was the floor, where they posted a team score of 49.300. It was a 49.125, but their anchor Ella Hodges posted an impressive 9.950.

Ohio State took their first lead of the night heading into the final rotation, leading the Tigers by a score of 147.725 to 147.450.

In the final event of the night, the Tigers were facing a pretty healthy deficit. Sierra Ballard led off on floor and put together a very nice routine which earned her a 9.900 from the judges.

Emma Pritchard led off beam for Ohio State with a 9.800, not ideal for the Tigers who desperately need some low scores if they want to come back in this meet.

After Pritchard's 9.800, Olivia Dunne made her season debut on the floor for the Tigers. In her first performance since March of 2023, Dunne scored a 9.875 as the Tigers drew ever closer to the Buckeyes.

Alexis Hankins, the Buckeyes second leg, posted another score of 9.750, but on Ohio State's third routine on beam, Jojo Warga fell. Unfortunately, she was injured and could not return, but she got up and walked off under her own power. She was eventually given a score of 7.800.

KJ Johnson came back with another strong floor performance for LSU, posting a 9.850. With Aleah Finnegan and Haleigh Bryant still to perform, the Tigers knew they had a chance.

The Buckeyes Payton Harris hit the beam next. Feeling the pressure of LSU on their tail, Harris turned in Ohio State's best performance on beam to that point with a 9.825.

As she always does, Aleah Finnegan delivered for LSU, scoring a 9.900 after a monster routine. She did her part in keeping the Tigers in this one, but they still needed some more help.

Tory Vetter followed on beam for the Buckeyes. She posted a 9.825, and with one gymnast to go and Warga's score almost surely getting dropped, the Tigers still needed some help to win this one.

That's when Haleigh Bryant hit the floor. Bryant lived in the 9.9's in 2023, with just four of her 16 floor routines scoring under a 9.900. In the biggest moment, Bryant delivered again, scoring a 9.925.

Ella Hodges wrapped up the night for Ohio State with a 9.750, just the slip up LSU needed as it gave the Buckeyes a team score of 48.950 on beam.

Amari Dayton made her floor debut for LSU as the anchor, replacing Kiya Johnson who was supposed to finish things up for the Tigers. Drayton then posted an incredible 9.925, meaning KJ Johnson's score of 9.850 was dropped. The Tigers finished the floor with their best score on any event Friday night with a 49.525.

In the end, the Tigers overcame two big mistakes on beam to take a 196.975 to 196.775 victory over the No. 14 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.

Behind some monster performances from Amari Drayton, Haleigh Bryant and Aleah Finnegan, the Tigers advanced to 1-0 on the young season.

Stay up to date on all the LSU news with your premium subscription

Talk about this story and more in The Quad

Make sure you're caught up on all the latest LSU news

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video and live streaming coverage