Angel Reese and the LSU Tigers take down the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament in Baton Rouge, LA at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. [ The Daily Advertiser]

LSU Women’s Basketball Is In The Sweet 16

Joseph Torviso March 26, 2024 Basketball, College Basketball, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, SEC, Women's College Basketball 263 Views

The LSU Tigers are in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women’s tournament for the second year in a row.

NCAA Royalty

After falling just short to No. 1 South Carolina in the SEC tournament final, the three-seeded Tigers are set on going back-to-back in the NCAA Tournament. LSU has had a comfortable ride to the Sweet 16.

In the first round, third seed Louisiana State faced off against 14 seed Rice. The Owls struggled early, scoring just six points in the first quarter. They would bring the game to just three points at halftime, but Angel Reese and crew outscored their opponents 23-15 in the third quarter. LSU won comfortably by 10 points.

The Tigers then faced No. 11 Middle Tennessee in the second round Sunday. The Blue Raiders did have a 36-32 lead at halftime, but LSU thrashed them in the second half. It wasn’t even close as Louisiana won 83-56. Junior guard Aneesah Morrow had an excellent game for the Tigers, earning a double-double scoring 19 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

LSU’s Leaders

Reese leads LSU in points and rebounds with 581 and 410, respectively. Morrow is second in both categories with 577 points and 351 boards.

Senior transfer Hailey Van Lith leads the team in assists with 112.

The Bruins

The Tigers face No. 2 seed UCLA. The Bruins are coming off a 67-63 win over seven seed Creighton in the second round. Sophomore center Lauren Betts had an outstanding game scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 boards. Sophomore guard Kiki Rice also had a great performance scoring 24 points playing 38 minutes.

The Bruins are 28-6 on the season, falling to the PAC-12 tournament champions USC in the Semi Finals 80-70.

UCLA is led by graduate student Charisma Osborne. The 5-foot-9 guard leads the team in points with 466 in 33 games. Along with Rice, Osborne has started every game for the Bruins this season.

Betts has been UCLA’s monster on the glass with 252 total rebounds. Second most is Rice with 192, 170 of them being defensive boards.

Saturday Showdown

The SEC-PAC-12 matchup will take place Saturday at 1 p.m. ET in the Albany, N.Y. If the Tigers win the region semifinal, they can potentially face Iowa in the Elite Eight for a 2023 championship rematch. LSU beat Caitlan Clark‘s Hawkeyes 102-85 last time out.

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