Aneesah Morrow and Flau’jae Johnson score 20 points each to lift No. 7 LSU over Jacksonville 110-68

BATON ROUGE, La. -- — Aneesah Morrow and Flau’jae Johnson scored 20 points each as No. 7 LSU had six players score in double figures in a 110-68 win over Jacksonville on Saturday night.

Angel Reese had 17 points and a season-high 20 rebounds and Morrow had 10 rebounds.

Mikaylah Williams added 17 points, Aalyah Del Rosario scored 14 and Hailey Van Lith had 11.

The Tigers finished the nonconference portion of their schedule 13-1 after the defending national champions lost their season opener to then-No. 20 Colorado on Nov. 6.

Guard Edyn Battle led Jacksonville (4-9) with 17 points.

“That was not very pretty,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. “It was very ugly — 52 free-throw attempts (by LSU), 32 free-throw attempts (by Jacksonville). Nobody wants to see that.

“That doesn’t mean I think the officiating was bad. We’ve got to get better and stop dribble penetration. A second-level guy has to help. Hopefully with Hailey back, we’ll get some sense of being a better team defensively.”

A well-rested Van Lith, who missed four straight games nursing a plantar fasciitis injury, sparked the Tigers early and often. In the game’s first 6 1/2 minutes, the junior lefty Louisville transfer swished a trio of 3-point attempts and threw almost a full-length court pass to Johnson who swished a 3-pointer for a 23-2 lead.

“She came out hoopin’,” LSU guard Janae Kent said of Van Lith. “She’s a facilitator. She makes the players around her better. She brings energy and passion. She’s the type of player you want to have on the floor with you.”

LSU led 29-13 at the end of the first quarter but could only outscore the Dolphins 22-20 in the second period for a 51-33 halftime lead.

It was LSU’s worst shooting quarter of the season missing 11 of 14 shots including five layups. Reese had a double-double by halftime with 11 points (all on free throws) and 11 rebounds as she missed all five of her field goal attempts.

After the Tigers shot just 29% from the field (9 of 31) in the first half, better energy and ball movement in the second half resulted in almost 63% shooting (22 of 35) in the final two quarters.

It wasn’t the performance Mulkey was looking for with SEC play starting Thursday. But the Tigers seem better equipped than last season heading into conference action.

Mulkey lost starting forward Sa’Myah Smith after seven games with a season-ending knee injury, suspended returning All-American forward Angel Reese for four games and kicked returning reserve guard Kateri Poole off the team.

“You just keep winning,” Mulkey said. “You deal with any obstacle that presents itself. You don’t dwell on it. There were lots of times where we could have lost, lots of times we could have made excuses. You do your job. You coach hard. You play hard.”

BIG PICTURE

LSU: With Saturday’s win, third-year coach Mulkey is 44-3 (including a 7-1 NCAA tourney record) with the Tigers against nonconference teams.

Jacksonville: Nine of Jacksonville’s players are newcomers. Also, the Dolphins have a first-year coach, Special Jennings, and three new assistants.

UP NEXT

LSU: Host Missouri on Thursday.

Jacksonville: Host Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball