BATON ROUGE, La. — Flau’jae Johnson led the way with an impressive performance, scoring 25 points and grabbing seven rebounds, as No. 7 LSU rallied from a nine-point deficit at halftime to defeat Murray State 74-60 on Friday evening.

The Tigers, boasting a 4-0 record this season, had dominated most of their games, often holding double-digit leads. However, they found themselves behind for nearly 18 and a half minutes, even trailing by as much as 13 points. A pivotal moment came early in the fourth quarter when Aneesah Morrow, assisted by Johnson, made a layup that put LSU ahead.

Morrow contributed significantly to the second half, scoring nine of her total ten points during this period and collecting 13 rebounds. Mikaylah Williams also had a solid outing, adding 15 points along with eight rebounds.

On the other side, Ava Learn was a standout for Murray State, registering 18 points and ten rebounds, while Halli Poock chipped in with 15 points.

Key Takeaways: For Murray State, the team showcased a strategy that, albeit temporarily, seemed effective against LSU by minimizing turnovers and controlling the boards.

For LSU, the first half served as a wake-up call, as they struggled to adjust to their opponents’ pace and energy.

One notable moment in the game was surprising; in Kim Mulkey’s 108 matches as LSU’s head coach, no other team had ever outscored the Tigers by 20 points in a single quarter. Yet, after falling behind 25-14 by the end of the first quarter, Murray State caught fire in the second, outscoring LSU 32-12.

A critical statistic from the game showed that during an 8 and a half-minute span starting late in the first quarter and ending just shy of halftime, LSU’s shooting went cold. The Tigers missed 16 out of 18 field goal attempts during this stretch, illustrating their struggles on offense.

Looking ahead, LSU is scheduled to host Murray State again on Friday night, while Murray State will take on Memphis on November 23.