Rice, LSU overcome poor play to defeat Rice 70-60 in first round of women’s NCAA Tournament

Baton Rouge, LA. (AP) – Angel Reese had 10 points and 19 rebounds, and third-seeded LSU overcame a dominant performance from No. 14 seed Rice 70-60 on Friday in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. ,

Anissa Morrow added 15 points, while Flau’J Johnson and Mikayla Williams each scored 14 apiece for the defending national champion Tigers (29-5), who had to work hard to beat the Owls (19-15) in no small part Was not a part. They committed a season-high 24 turnovers.

Rice surprisingly entered the NCAA Tournament by winning four in a row at the American Athletic Tournament after losing its previous five regular season games. And they didn’t make it any easier on LSU, which didn’t lead by more than 11 the entire game and was up by only six after Maya Bokuniewicz’s 3 from left field and Susie Nagulefack’s layup with 1:56 remaining to make it 62–1. Made it 56.

Destiny Jackson scored 15 points and Malia Fisher had 13 points and three steals for Rice. Nagulefak and Emily Klaczek each scored 10 points.

LSU never trailed and were tied at just two at the start of the second quarter, but LSU’s lead was just three at halftime after Klaczek’s 3 field goal pulled Rice to 30–27. The Tigers’ lead was reduced to less than one point on three occasions in the third quarter.

Rice: The Owls played like a team that had nothing to lose, they were relentless and opportunistic, causing LSU turnovers that led to 16 points. They couldn’t overcome their lack of size and skill with star-laden LSU and were outrebounded 43% to 35%.

LSU: The frontcourt of Reese and Morrow has been too much for most opponents this season and Rice was no exception. Reese recorded his 24th double-double of the season and 13th consecutive. Tigers beat Rice 42-29

LSU is in the second round for the third consecutive season. They are one win away from advancing to the Albany 2 Regional semifinals and possibly two wins away from meeting Iowa and NCAA all-time leading scorer Caitlin Clark in a rematch of last season’s national title game.

Copyright 2024 The associated Press, All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.