In one of the premier early season matchups in women’s college basketball, No. 7 LSU (8–1) was powered by the return of star Angel Reese, defeating visiting No. 9 Virginia Tech (5–2) 82–64 in a rematch of last season’s Final Four on Thursday night in Baton Rouge.
The 2023 Final Four Most Outstanding Player, who had missed the past four games for an undisclosed reason, returned to LSU’s starting lineup to contribute 19 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes, while playing stifling defense on Hokies star and reigning ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley.
“It was a long two weeks to be away from the team,” Reese told reporters afterward. “Taking time to yourself is really important. I just felt like that was something that was important, resetting and refocusing within the team. I’m just happy to be back, and this place was amazing tonight. I’m just happy to be here with them.”
The Tigers started slow in the first quarter, as the Hokies raced to an early lead thanks to hot shooting and several missed open shots by LSU. However, the Tigers ratcheted up their intensity in the remaining three quarters, beating the Hokies to several loose balls and turning up the heat on the defensive end of the floor.
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The Hokies committed 14 turnovers and were held to 4-for-21 shooting from three-point range. As for the Tigers, it was a balanced scoring effort outside of Reese’s 19, as Aneesah Morrow contributed 19 of her own, while freshman Mikaylah Williams poured in a team-high 20 points.
Virginia Tech was paced by star guard Georgia Amoore’s 25 points on 11-of-24 shooting, but Kitley failed to find many open looks all night, scoring 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the floor.
Thursday night’s win notched the 700th career victory for Tigers coach Kim Mulkey.
The Tigers return to action Dec. 10 against Louisiana, while the Hokies return to Blacksburg to host Long Island on Wednesday.
