GREENVILLE, S.C. — The end of the game was not pretty. No. 3 seed LSU did not make a field goal for nearly four minutes. No. 2 Utah airballed a free throw that could have tied the game. Each team’s best player fouled out: LSU’s Angel Reese and Utah’s Alissa Pili both had to finish the evening on the bench. The whole affair was physical and messy and tough.
But LSU prevailed, 66–63, knocking one of the best offenses in the sport out of the tournament. And the Tigers made a statement. Think their chances live and die with star forward Reese? Think again. While Reese put up her standard double-double, LSU had game-changing contributions instead from a pair of seniors, LaDazhia Williams and Alexis Morris.
Williams’s consistent scoring buoyed LSU throughout the evening: She had a season-high 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting. Morris, meanwhile, came through in the clutch by sinking four of four free throws in the final 10 seconds.
