By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
NORMAN, Okla. – The start of every LSU women’s basketball practice is spent working on something often forgotten in games filled with nothing but three-pointers and aggressive drives.
“The first 15 minutes, we’re shooting mid-range jump shots off side ball screens, and off relocation,” Tigers’ associate head coach Bob Starkey said.
It just so happened the soft spot in No. 13 Oklahoma’s defense was in the lane 12 to 15 feet from the basket.
And it’s where LSU guards Flau’jae Johnson and Jada Richard held a Sunday afternoon picnic, feasting on an assortment of mid-range jumpers, scoring 23 and 21 points respectively in the 6th-ranked Tigers’ 91-72 SEC road win.
The victory by the Tigers (17-2 overall, 3-2 SEC) was not only their third straight win in league play after an 0-2 start, but it also marked the first time a Kim Mulkey-coached LSU team won consecutive games over top-15-ranked teams since the 2022 Final Four when the Tigers won their first national championship.
Johnson, who hit a pair of 3-pointers in a 22-3 run that flipped a 13-4 deficit in the game’s first three minutes to the Tigers’ first double-digit lead of the day, credited Richard for her play at both ends of the court.
“Jada controlled the pace,” said Johnson of sophomore starting point guard Richard, a former 2024 Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year from Opelousas who has emerged as the Tigers’ undisputed floor leader. “She really controlled the whole dynamic on defense.”
The Sooners (14-3, 2-3 SEC), who suffered their third straight conference loss, had more turnovers (18 leading to 21 LSU points) than two-point baskets (14). LSU’s defense, which produced nine steals, held OU to 36.6 field goal shooting.
Then, in the battle of the No. 1-ranked (Oklahoma) and No. 3-ranked (LSU) rebounding teams in the country, the Tigers’ collective effort from their guards gave LSU a 48-38 domination on the boards.
Johnson had 10 rebounds, Richard had 5, junior Mikaylah Williams had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, junior South Carolina transfer MLaysia Fulwiley contributed 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals and true freshman Grace Knox added 12 points.
Notre Dame sophomore transfer forward Katie Koval played a huge role off the bench for the Tigers. After 6-2 East Carolina transfer Amiya Joiner immediately couldn’t physically handle taller (6-4) and wider OU senior center Raegan Beers, the 6-5 Koval was able to bang with Beers. She scored 9 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and helped Beers get into first-half foul trouble.
Beers finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Oklahoma senior guard Payton Verhulst led the Sooners with 21 points. She had five of OU’s 12 3-pointers.
“Your offense is going to be better if we rebound and we don’t foul,” OU coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “We’re going nowhere in this league if we don’t rebound. We don’t box out, and we’re exposed. It’s where a lot of our fouls came from.”
LSU led 24-19 after the first quarter, 45-35 at halftime, and 70-52 at the end of the third quarter.
The Tigers’ brief moment of trepidation came when two consecutive Verhulst 3’s started an 8-0 OU run that cut LSU’s lead to 13 points at 76-63 with 5:28 left.
LSU’s response was a 9-0 run, keyed by two straight steals by Fulwiley, leading to her layup and 1 of 2 free throws. The Tigers, who made 29 of 33 free throws compared to the Sooners’ 8 of 12, swished their last eight free throws, including four by Richard in the final 62 seconds.
“I was taking what the defense gave us,” said Richard, who scored a collegiate career high. “I have great players around me, so with them on the court I’m going always be open.”
Starkey, who was filling in at the postgame press conference for Mulkey, who was tending to a personal family matter, praised Richard for her on-the-court growth this season.
“Jada is the type of player right now that we thought she was going to be,” Starkey said. “She was a very competitive defensive player in high school and also quick off the bounce and could shoot the basketball. It was just a matter of her transferring that to the collegiate level.
“But now, she has a voice on the floor. She doesn’t have a problem saying something to Flau’jae or Mikaylah or any of our players in terms of getting them in the right place or telling them something that they need to do.”
LSU plays next at Texas A&M on Thursday at 8 p.m. before opening a three-game homestand vs. Florida on Jan. 26, Arkansas on Jan. 29, and No. 21 Alabama on February 1.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedi@gmail.com