LSU had another chilly night shooting the ball, but it does not matter when the Tigers defend and dominate the glass like they did against Michigan Sunday.
Led by Angel Reese’s 25 points and 24 rebounds, the Tigers stormed into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014 with a 66-42 victory over the Wolverines in a second-round NCAA tournament game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The No. 3-seed Tigers play No. 2 seed Utah on Friday at Bon Secours Arena in the Greenville (South Carolina) 2 Regional. Utah beat Princeton 63-56 on Sunday.
Reese’s 30th double-double was her sixth time eclipsing 20 points and 20 rebounds and she broke the LSU record for rebounds in an NCAA tournament game previously held by Sylvia Fowles, who had 20 against Tennessee in 2008.
Reese’s rebounding helped LSU control the glass 46-26 while defensively LSU held the visitors to a season-low in points and caused 16 turnovers. Both teams shot 35% from the field but LSU launched 68 shots to 46 for Michigan. LSU also missed several point-blank layups.
The first quarter was a had a plethora of missed shots for both teams with LSU going 5 for 21, but Jasmine Carson came off the bench to energize the crowd of 10,108 with a trio of 3-pointers to push the Tigers ahead by 14.
Michigan had a mini-rally to start the second half with a 7-0 run to make it 30-22 but Reese scored while being fouled. Reese missed her free-throw attempt, but LaDazhia Williams grabbed the rebound and Kateri Poole finished the possession with a 3-pointer. The Tigers’ lead stayed in double-digits the rest of the night, rising as high as 24.
LSU dominated the first half even though Michigan shot for a better percentage (33%) on 7 of 21 shots. But the Tigers’ 28-13 edge on the glass allowed them to shoot 29% (12 for 41).
Reese had 13 points and 14 rebounds, but Carson was the big difference despite not starting for the first time in 20 games. She entered the game late in the first quarter but came out on fire in the second. She hit back-to-back 3s to ignite the crowd and added another after a miss to cap an 11-0 run which pushed LSU up 23-9. Michigan had to call timeout with 6:21 left.
LSU then began feeding Reese and she responded with seven points, two baskets when she took the ball to the hoop. She shot 5 for 13 but added three assists and two steals.
Meanwhile, LSU stifled Michigan on the defensive end. The Wolverines had their worst scoring first quarter with seven and added eight in the second. Perimeter shooting ace Maddie Nolan, who had 18 points against UNLV on Friday, was scoreless and took only two shots at the break.
Michigan was 1 of 5 on 3-point attempts and had only one offensive rebound to 15 for the Tigers. Michigan had nine turnovers, six of those were steals by LSU.
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