GREENVILLE, S.C. — The No. 7 seed LSU women’s basketball team lost to the No. 2 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs in the quarterfinals of the 2020 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament by a final score of 79-49. With the loss, the Tigers fall to 20-10 on the season and the Bulldogs, ranked No. 9 in the nation, improve to 26-5. LSU will await their postseason destination when the NCAA Tournament bracket is announced on Selection Monday set for March 16.

Khayla Pointer led the way with 14 points, four assists and three rebounds. Pointer shot was 5-for-7 from the charity stripe and made the lone three-pointer she took during the course of the game. Awa Trasi was two points shy of a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds and scoring eight points. Faustine Aifuwa brought a tenacity in the paint with 10 points and 6 rebounds. Aifuwa finished with two blocks as well, adding to the 16 blocks she collected in her last three games. Tiara Young had a solid game finishing with nine points. Young added two rebounds and two assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED

·         Pointer got the scoring started for LSU with a made free throw to make the score 1-0.

·         The Bulldogs went on a quick 5-0 run, but Jaelyn Richard-Harris quickly responded with a three-pointer bringing the score to 5-4.

·         LSU took the lead, 8-7, at the 5:27 mark with an Aifuwa layup.

·         LSU continued their hot run with help from a Mercedes Brooks feed that led to a layup from Pointer. In the next possession, Richard-Harris joined the assist column with a pass that led to a Pointer three-ball, increasing the LSU lead to 13-7.

·         The Bulldogs finished the quarter on 3-0 run, bringing the score to 13-10.

·         After the Bulldogs tried to close the gap further, Young splashed a three-pointer home. Jailin Cherry added on in the next possession with a layup on the fastbreak to make the score, 20-14.

·         LSU’s three-point shooting continued to be on point with another from Trasi to bring the score to 23-16 at the second quarter media timeout.

·         The Bulldogs finished the first half on a 10-2 run to take the lead 26-25.

·         Mississippi State got the second-half scoring started with a layup increasing its lead to 28-25.

·         The Bulldogs continued their hot start, going on a 6-0, but LSU responded with a layup from Pointer to make the score, 34-29.

·         LSU tried to close the gap, but the Bulldogs went on 6-2 run to make the score, 40-31, going into the third quarter media timeout.

·         The Bulldogs increased their lead to 52-37 to end the third quarter.

·         Mississippi State maintained their lead at the 5:49 mark making the score 62-44, before LSU called a timeout.

·         The Bulldogs finished the game on a 17-5 run to bring the score to 79-49.

Up Next

LSU will await their postseason destination when the NCAA Tournament bracket is announced on Monday, March 16.