By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE — Players ejected, technical fouls on both head coaches, both teams scoring 100 or more points in regulation for the first time in SEC history, bodies flying everywhere like a kung-fu flick.
“I guess it was entertaining for the fans,” LSU head coach Kim Mulkey said.
Well, yes it was.
And when it gets that chaotic, when the No. 7-ranked Tigers are about to blow a 24-point lead, it’s the moment LSU sophomore and former Parkway All-American Mikaylah Williams relishes.
“I just know what my number is called, I’m always ready for the moment,” Williams said.
Because when she waved over teammate Aalyah Del Rosario to set a screen she calmly ducked behind to hit her seventh 3-pointer of the game with 24 seconds left – the dagger that started a 6-0 game-ending run to secure a 107-100 SEC victory over Oklahoma Thursday night – it was a shot she has taken thousands of times in the solitude of honing her stroke in empty gyms.
It capped a 37-point performance by Williams – 12 of 20 field goals including 7 of 12 3’s, 6 of 7 free throws, 7 rebounds and 5 assists – that saved LSU’s bacon after most of her teammates folded against Oklahoma’s 1-2-2 press.
The Tigers (22-1, 7-1 SEC) were leading 72-48 with 4:13 left when they started crumbling. From that point until the last of their game-total 19 turnovers with just over four minutes left, they coughed up 11 turnovers including 5 by Flau’jae Johnson, 3 by Shayeann Day-Wilson, 2 by Morrow and 1 by Williams.
“We’re sitting over there like how could we lose a 24-point lead?” Mulkey said. “I went from Shayeann to K.G. (Kailyn Gilbert) to Mikaylah. You turn the ball over and a good team will capitalize on that.”
Oklahoma, which fell to 16-5, 4-4 SEC, boasts a record that doesn’t reflect its talented roster. The Sooners return 98 percent of their scoring from last year’s team that won the Big 12 Conference regular season championship.
The 13th-ranked Sooners have veteran outside snipers, like former Louisville guard Payton Verhulst who was last year’s Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in her OU debut. She ripped LSU for 26 points.
When Verhulst wasn’t killing the Tigers, 6-4 junior widebody center Raegan Beers could not be stopped by any of LSU’s thinner, mostly shorter post players. She scored 20 points, hitting all 8 of her field goal attempts by simply pinning whatever Tigers’ defender tried to guard her and catching the ball a step away from the rim.
LSU starting center Sa’Myah Smith and Oklahoma forward Liz Scott were ejected with 4:10 left in the first quarter.
Oklahoma center Beatrice Culliton was battling for position with Smith when they tangled. Culliton moved her arm to create separation and Smith retaliated by pushing her to the ground. Scott, also in the paint area, responded by shoving Smith.
It put LSU at a huge disadvantage for the rest of the game.
Still, with Johnson and Morrow scoring the bulk of their 25 and 21 points in the first 2½ quarters, LSU was able to build a lead that looked invincible.
Until it almost wasn’t.
Even though Oklahoma outscored LSU 52-35 after trailing by 24, Williams countered with 15 points in that same time frame.
None was bigger than after Oklahoma’s Verhulst hit a 3-pointer to slice LSU’s lead to 101-100 with 1:08 left. On the Tigers’ next possession after they collected offensive rebounds off a missed Williams’ 3-poiner and a missed follow shot by Morrow, LSU regrouped by again putting the ball in the hands of Williams.
“I knew we’d be in our pick and roll, and we wanted (OU center) Reagan Beers to be in it,” Williams said. “I knew when she would be guarding Aalyah, I sent her (Aalyah) to come up (to set the screen). I knew she (Beers) was going to be sagging off, so I was just prepared to shoot the ball. And I was having a good game tonight, so I was very confident about it falling in.”
Williams’ final 3 of the night was followed 12 seconds later with Johnson scoring on a breakaway layup off a blocked shot by Del Rosario to snuff OU’s comeback.
Afterward, when Mulkey assessed LSU’s all-time scoring output in an SEC game and gushied over the Tigers’ season-high 12 3-pointers made, she reserved her highest praise for Williams.
“She will play any position I need her to play, and she’s been doing that for a month or so,” Mulkey said. “She’s willing to do whatever we need. I love that kid. She just wants to do right. She just wants to win. Every day, she just wants to get better.”
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com