BATON ROUGE, La. — Mikaylah Williams delivered an impressive performance, scoring 22 points to lead the No. 7 ranked LSU Tigers to an 81-67 win against Mississippi State on Sunday.

Flau’Jae Johnson contributed significantly with 20 points, while Aneesah Morrow not only scored 18 points but also grabbed an impressive 20 rebounds. Jersey Wolfenbarger added another 12 points for LSU, which now stands at 23-1 overall and 8-1 in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

The Bulldogs, improving their record to 16-7 and 3-6 in the SEC, were led by Eniya Russell, who scored 13 points. Both Destiny McPhaul and Quanirah Montague contributed with 10 points each to their team’s effort.

Despite the loss, Mississippi State managed to execute effectively in the paint early on, outscoring LSU 20-16 in that area during the first half. However, the Bulldogs found themselves trailing by as many as 18 points late in the second quarter. LSU experienced some struggles of their own, with three turnovers and allowing six second-chance points that helped the Bulldogs reduce the gap to just six points with a halftime score of 41-35.

LSU’s starting center, Sa’Myah Smith, was absent due to a one-game suspension stemming from an incident in a recent game against Oklahoma. In her place, Arkansas transfer Jersey Wolfenbarger stepped up to fill the role after being a bench player in the previous five SEC matchups.

A pivotal moment in the game came at the outset when the Tigers opened with a swift nine-point scoring run. The Bulldogs struggled right from the start, committing five turnovers and missing their initial five shots, leaving them unable to recuperate from an early deficit.

A noteworthy statistic is LSU’s resurgence in long-range shooting, as they made 21 three-pointers in their last two games combined after hitting just 14 in their preceding SEC matchups. They followed up a strong shooting performance against Oklahoma, where they went 12 of 26 from beyond the arc, by connecting on 9 of 20 attempts against Mississippi State.

Looking ahead, LSU is set to face Missouri on Thursday, while Mississippi State will host Arkansas.