LSU women’s basketball took to the road on Sunday afternoon to Starkville, Mississippi, to face Mississippi State in the Tigers’ last regular season game of the season.
The Tigers walked away with a hard-fought 72-63 win, coming back from an early deficit.
The game started off as a low-scoring showdown in the first quarter that was dominated by Mississippi State. It began to feel like the LSU defense couldn’t keep up with the Bulldogs’ star player Madison Francis.
“I want to give credit to Mississippi State, they played hard and hit shots and I think they got to the foul line more than we did,” Mulkey said. “Francis’ length bothered us at the post so I just went big.”
After being knocked down by the Bulldogs in the last meeting in 2024, the Tigers came in ranked No. 6. And after shooting 1-for-10 to open the game, it looked like Mississippi State would knock off LSU again.
The LSU defense couldn’t keep up with the Bulldogs’ star player Madison Francis, as it found itself in a 12-3 hole.
But two minutes into the second quarter, LSU finally grabbed the lead. Mikaylah Williams and MiLaysia Fulwiley were truly gamechangers.
Williams, who had 10 points and five rebounds by the time LSU took the lead, would be the leading scorer for the Tigers on the day. She finished the game with 26 points, 15 rebounds and four assists.
“I don’t think it was me realizing I had a good night, I think it was me realizing I had to come home because Mississippi State was playing really good basketball,” Williams said. “I had to get started to be that spark to get the rest of the team going.”
But there was a clear moment that flipped the game. It was when Fulwiley subbed in at the three minute mark of the first quarter.
LSU proceeded to go on a 28-6 run.
Coming off the bench, Fulwiley delivered 16 points and two blocks in the game, adding to LSU’s nation-best ranking in off-the-bench scoring. Only further highlighting the power and depth that head coach Kim Mulkey has focused so much on during the offseason.
But, Mississippi State made it difficult for LSU to break out and build a larger lead. At halftime, the Bulldogs were down 35 to 22, but they would come out of the break and claw back to take the lead.
But that only lasted 13 seconds, as Williams earned an and one to tie the game, and then Fulwiley would take the lead back with a layup.
From then on, LSU never took its foot off the gas, riding its lead all the way to the end of the game.
As the last regular game of the season came to a close, the Tigers now look forward to the SEC tournament that kicks off on Thursday morning in South Carolina.
Although the numbers for the Bulldogs weren’t the prettiest, they showed the effort and the ability to hold LSU to a below average performance in the first half.
This win, although not just handed to the Tigers on a silver platter, is exactly what was needed to understand that now that this is postseason play, nothing comes easy anymore. This time, LSU was able to walk away with the win.