The largest crowd in Pete Maravich Assembly Center history showed up Sunday to celebrate the 4th ranked LSU Lady Tigers seniors in the final game of the regular season.
Former LSU men’s star and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal was also in the house to watch fellow Naismith Hall of Famer and Lady Tigers second-year head coach Kim Mulkey chase a pair of program milestones.
Thanks to Angel Reese’s 23 points and 26 rebounds and seniors Alexis Morris and LaDazhia Williams scoring 23 and 16 points respectively, LSU held off pesky Mississippi State 74-59 before 15,721 fans.
The victory for the 27-1 Tigers (15-1 SEC) tied the 2004-05 team for the best regular season record in school history. LSU also finished 15-0 at home, the fifth perfect home record in school history and the first since 2005-06.
"We just played, in my opinion, the hottest team in the SEC," Mulkey said. "Those guys take you off the dribble as good as anybody. They're playing good."
The Bulldogs led 15-14 at the end of the first quarter. LSU’s defense allowed too many MSU drives to the basket from Tulane transfer guard Jerkail Johnson and Anastasi Hayes.
Reese and Morris accounted for 12 of the Lady Tigers’ first quarter points, so LSU needed some points from the rest of the lineup to shake the pesky Bulldogs.
After not even attempting a shot in the first period, Williams scored 10 of LSU’s 22 second-quarter points when the Lady Tigers eventually took a 36-24 lead with 2:56 left.
But State closed on a 6-0 run and LSU’s 36-30 halftime lead seemed a tad shaky. Even when LSU took a 14-point lead at 54-40 with 1:36 left in the third quarter, a 6-0 MSU run cut the LSU margin to 54-46 entering the final period.
Morris stifled the Bulldogs' hope of a comeback, scoring 13 of LSU's 20 fourth-quarter points.
"I put a lot of work in behind the scenes," said Morris of her ability to excel during crunch time. "I'm comfortable making those shots or missing those shots during those heated moments. But it's something I definitely embrace."
LSU finished second in the SEC regular season standings for the second straight year to league champ No. 1 ranked and defending national champion South Carolina.
The Lady Tigers earned a bye into Friday's SEC tournament quarterfinals in Greenville, S.C with a 6 p.m. tip vs. a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
"I struggle the older I get of why do we play conference tournaments," Mulkey said. "Why do you play them when you're in pretty good shape for the (NCAA) postseason tournament? You play them for the Cinderella's, you play them for the teams on the bubble.
"So I have to motivate this team to understand we're competitive and we're going to play for something."
Mulkey has maintained for weeks it doesn't matter what LSU does in the NCAA tournament, believing the NCAA tournament selection committee already has LSU on the No. 2 seed line. She said she thinks because of the Tigers' weak non-conference schedule that LSU won't be a No. 1 seed even if it won the SEC tourney.