LSU WBB: No. 1 Recruiting Class Shines Against McNeese State

Aalyah Del Rosario shines for the Tigers in historic win over McNeese, youngsters growing up early.

No. 7 LSU held McNeese scoreless and went on a 47-0 run to allow the Tigers to set program records for points scored and margin of victory, defeating McNeese, 133-44.

“I told them at the half that we held them scoreless in the second quarter,” Coach Kim Mulkey said. “I told them then I’m not really sure I’ve ever been a part of that. And then I found out about that run and you don’t think about it at the moment. I don’t know that I have been a part of that. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing - that is kind of crazy.”

LSU had six players score in double-figures with three earning double-doubles, and two freshman recorded career highs. It marked the first time this year six players reached double digits.

Aalyah Del Rosario earned her first career double-double as she led all scorers with 27-points and had 10 boards, both of which are career-highs for the freshman.

“For me it’s just about progress,” Del Rosario said. “Compared to the beginning of the season when I came here, I was not in the best shape. Now I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in. The support from my teammates and my coaching staff has been amazing.”

“You saw a couple things tonight that Aalyah couldn’t do earlier in the year,” Coach Mulkey said. “She’s very proud of herself. And when you do things like that and you see results, the first thing that happens is you them become really, really confident.”

Mikaylah Williams was right behind her with 26 points. Angelica Velez had a career-high 10 points and 5 assists with no turnovers while Janae Kent scored 6 as LSU’s four freshmen scored 69 points.

Angel Reese and Aneesah Morrow earned double-doubles as the duo continued its dominance down low. Reese had 21 points and 11 rebounds while Morrow scored 18 and hauled in 10 rebounds.

Alva Mofalk and Emilia Tenbrock each scored 12 to lead the Cowgirls as the only two players to reach double figures. No Cowgirl had more than five rebounds and two fouled out in the fourth quarter.

LSU will be back in action on Sunday afternoon as it hosts Northwestern State at 2:00 p.m. inside the PMAC before hitting the road next Wednesday to take on Coppin State in Baltimore, Maryland, a trip home for Reese.

Midway through the first quarter the game was tied at 10, but as soon as LSU went to a man press it went on a dominating 47-0 run that spanned from the first quarter into the third to stretch the score. The Tigers scored at least 30 points in all four quarters.

The Tigers were 45-78 for a field goal percentage of 58-percent to mark the team's second best shooting effort this season. LSU held McNeese to 29-percent on 16-55. The Tigers forced 36 turnovers and only gave up 7, the lowest of the season. LSU tallied 20 steals and scored 52 points off turnovers alone. LSU out-rebounded McNeese 52-27 and scored 60 points inside the paint.

Morrow led the Tigers through the opening five minutes as she scored 6 points and hauled in 5 boards to give LSU a 10-7 lead at the media timeout. Following the break, McNeese’s Boston Berry tied the game at 10 with her first triple of the night. LSU went to a full court man press and responded well as it went on a 7-0 run over just 40-seconds to force a Cowgirl timeout. The Tigers extended its lead on a 22-2 run as they went 9-for-9 from the field in the final three minutes. After forcing 5 turnovers in the final four minutes of the quarter, LSU took a 32-12 lead into the second.

The Tigers carried their momentum into the second as Del Rosario scored 8 points in three minutes to lead a 10-0 Tiger run. After the media timeout Williams and Reese combined for 8 to extend the Tiger run to 40-2. The LSU defense held McNeese scoreless, only allowing 7 shot attempts. The Tigers scored 30 in the second quarter to take a 62-12 into halftime.

It's the second time the Tigers have shut out an opponent in a quarter. LSU shut FSU out in the second quarter in Tallahassee on November 18, 2018 on the way to a 58-45 win. LSU went on a 47-0 run from the middle of the first quarter to the start of the second quarter.

Two minutes into the third, McNeese scored its first points since the eighth minute of the opening quarter. After Mofalk hit the Cowgirls third three of the game, LSU went on a 9-0 run to push its lead past sixty. The run saw Morrow haul in her tenth board to secure another double-double. With three minutes left in the third LSU forced a McNeese timeout after another long run, this time 18-0. Velez went 2-2 from the foul line to end the quarter and give LSU a 100-27 lead.

LSU opened the fourth on a 7-0 run as the Tigers went a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line in the first two minutes. McNeese traded buckets late but had no response for Del Rosario’;s dominance inside the post. The Tigers put together another 15-0 run as it improved it lead to as much as 94. LSU played comfortably with its lead and cruised to an 89-point victory and set two school records at once.