LSU Women's Basketball Set to be Without Starting Forward, Suspended for One Game

The Tigers will be without starting forward Sa'Myah Smith, Tigers set to take on Mississippi State on Sunday.

Jan 19, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; LSU Tigers forward Sa'Myah Smith (5) shakes hands while being introduced before a game against the Florida Gators at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

No. 7 LSU (22-1, 7-1 SEC) prepares for a Southeastern Conference clash again Mississippi State (16-6, 3-5 SEC) on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the program's three-game home stand.

The Tigers return to action after a wild win Thursday night against No. 13 Oklahoma, 107-100.

LSU led by 24 in the third quarter, but the Sooners went to a 1-2-2 press and the Tigers started turning the ball over, allowing Oklahoma back in the game.

The Sooners got it as close to within one with less than a minute remaining, but a clutch sequence in which LSU got two offensive boards, Mikaylah Williams sank a three, Aalyah Del Rosario got a block and a Flau’Jae Johnson scored a fast break layup to seal the game.

But the Tigers will be without a critical component to the program's success on Sunday afternoon against the Bulldogs.

With four minutes remaining in the first quarter of Thursday's contest against the Oklahoma Sooners, starting forward Sa'Myah Smith was ejected following an altercation with Beatrice Culliton.

Officials went to the monitor after the scuffle and made the decision to eject both players from the remainder of the game.

According to NCAA rules, Smith will be ineligible to play in LSU's following contest, which will be Sunday against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

LSU will fall back on Jersey Wolfenbarger to carry significant weight in the post for the Tigers against the SEC foe.

Another Tiger to keep tabs on will be point guard Last-Tear Poa.

Poa has missed the last two contests due to disciplinary reasons, head coach Kim Mulkey said on Thursday.

Following the victory over the Sooners, Mulkey detailed why her senior point guard has missed the last two games against both Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

"She is being disciplined for the breaking of a team rule," Mulkey said. The LSU coach did not provide a timeline for Poa to return to the floor for the Tigers.

Thursday marked the second multi-game stint Poa has missed games for the LSU Tigers after being out for the program's first three games of the 2024-25 season as well.

Poa has played in 18 games this season where she is averaging 2.3 points and 2.0 assists per game on 27% shooting from the field.

Mississippi State comes to Baton Rouge coming off its bye. The Bulldogs lost by one point on Monday after Missouri hit a last-second layup. Jerkaila Jordan had 40 points and 8 rebounds against Missouri. The Bulldogs have lost three of their past four games.

The matchup went Mississippi State’s way last season as the Bulldogs defensive pressure created issues for the Tigers.

LSU was coming off a tough loss against South Carolina and the Tigers were unable to bounce back. Mjracle Sheppard transferred to LSU from Mississippi State. In the upset win last year, Sheppard had 12 points, 6 steals, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.

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