No. 7 LSU vs No. 9 Virginia Tech | 2023 ACC/SEC Challenge | 11.30.23

BATON ROUGE — Kim Mulkey became the quickest coach in men’s or women’s DI basketball history to reach 700 wins Thursday night in the PMAC as No. 7 LSU took down No. 9 Virginia Tech, 82-64.

Mulkey surpassed UConn’s Geno Auriemma on the women’s side who got to 700 wins in 822 games and Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp on the men’s side who reached the mark in 836 games. Thursday was Mulkey’s 813th game as a head coach.

“These victories are special to me, but my impact on these girls is the most important,” Coach Mulkey said. “All in all, reaching 700 victories is nice, but I am most proud of my basketball team and where they have come.”

After a slow first quarter, the Tigers flipped the switch offensively and defensively in the second quarter. Four Tigers scored in double figures and LSU outpaced Virginia Tech in transition with 12 points off fast breaks to just 4 for the Hokies. The Tiger’s ability to get to the free-throw line was also big as they made 17 free-throws to 8 by Virginia Tech.

“​​When they spend time on the floor together, it becomes a thing of beauty,” Coach Mulkey said. “You see happiness out there, kids high-fiving, lifting others, and some roles that have now changed.”

Aneesah Morrow led the Tigers once again as she recorded her fourth double-double of the season, her third in a row. The reigning ESPN, AP, SEC and USBWA player of the week scored 19 and hauled in 15 rebounds in 39 minutes of action. She also added 3 steals and 2 blocks in the win.

“We have each other’s backs and were willing to take on the challenge,” Morrow said. “I feel like I’ve been showing that and my teammates have as well.”

Mikaylah Williams dropped 20 points on 9-15 shooting and added 6 rebounds and 5 assists. William’s Thursday night performance marked the third time she has amounted 20 points or more this year. The Freshman continued to shine in big moments as she led the Tigers in scoring in both the second and third quarter.

Angel Reese and Flau’Jae Johnson both scored in double figures to contribute to the 18-point victory. Reese totaled 9 rebounds and scored 9 in the final quarter to finish with 19. Johnson dropped 13 points and had 8 rebounds to record her fifth double-digit game of the season.

“We knew Virginia Tech from the Final Four and that was beneficial, but it was about us tonight,” Reese said. “Nobody comes into our house and takes things from us. You see how many people were in double figures tonight. We all play for each other and love playing good team basketball together.”

Virginia Tech’s dynamic duo of Georgia Amoore and Elizabeth Kitley led the Hokies all over the floor. Amoore led all scorers with 25 points on 11-24 from the field. Kitley finished with a double-double as she earned 16 points and 11 boards before fouling out halfway through the fourth quarter.

Hailey Van Lith, who only had 7 points, defended Amoore all night and did a good of limiting her space. Reese and Morrow both guarded Kitley at times and forced her to settle for jumpers instead of getting to the rim. Johnson was also big on the defensive end guarding the perimeter and limiting driving opportunities.

“Flau’jae Johnson and Hailey Van Lith were unsung heroes in the game tonight with their new roles,” Coach Mulkey said. “These two have greatly improved their all-around game and they put their focus on a strong defensive presence.”

After a slow start, LSU improved its 27-percent FG in the first quarter to finish 50-percent from the field overall. The Tigers fought hard down low as they out-rebounded the Hokies 43-29 and scored 32 points in the paint. LSU had 9 steals and 15 assists as an entire team effort boosted a comeback from dropping the first quarter.

The Tigers will take next week off for finals before hosting UL-Lafayette on December 10 in the PMAC to begin a three-game home slate before making one final road trip ahead of conference play.

Amoore led the Hokies through the opening six minutes with 7 points on 3-4 from the field as her squad held a 15-8 lead at the first media timeout. LSU forced VT to a span of 1-7 from the field as Morrow scored four to keep the Tigers within double figures. The LSU defense forced three pivotale turnovers in the final two minutes of the opening quarter to enter the second trailing 20-13. The Tigers started cold, shooting just 27-percent in the first quarter compared to Virginia Tech’s 42-percent.

[jpcash]

Morrow & Williams are absolute ballers 🔥🔥🔥 like damn near pro ready

[nottoomuch]

Mikaylah Williams is just that girl! They might just make it back to the final four if Kim ever realizes that they need to run the offense through her. Heavy on the might.

[jpcash]

and don’t underestimate Flau’jae she’s really good too. Her athleticism and skill combination is great

[WO]

I love Aneesah so much💯 Glad Angel back in her bag 🔥🔥

[bernardriggs]

Good team performance, I think MW the best freshman in the country and one of the top players . She put that pressure on the opponent and don’t let up.

[BigChrisENT]

Morrow is different! Best all around player on the team!

[crackingwithSwizzle]

Awesome game and it seems like LSU is playing better together. I just think that they need to tighten it up in the post with Angel and Morrow bc they're both fighting for the rebound and that could cause them to lose the ball or risk an injury.

[Raw-Ent]

Flaujae best player all around they need her to do it all rebound assist n lock up the best player in the other team ppl sleep on her cause she don’t try to score all the time girl is a pro n team player her game really grown

[ericbanks]

Angel the passer on the team the pass to flaujae was 🔥🔥🔥

[autumn]

I hate that SMith got injured she is needed and missed. #geauxtigers

[KevinSmith-zh]

I loved Morrow at Depaul, and she's still a beast at LSU.

[janaebattle]

I pray to God that LSU wins the championship again 🙏🏽 many praise you when your up but as soon as something bad happens they talk bad about you….keep going angel

[tiamarrow]

This game should prove that Morrow, Angel, and Flau’jae aren’t letting the rumors, bullying, and hate get to them…..they’re focusing on their games as a team and part of being a team is having up’s and downs but ultimately trying to solve them as a team, and figuring things out. With Flau’jae and Angel…..despite their mothers’ beef….it’s clear from this game that they’re still super close and aren’t listening to the bullshit. With Angel and Aneessa, if there was truly any animosity between them I don’t think they would’ve done the post game press conference together. However like Mulkey said, what happens in the locker room, stays in the locker room and unless it’s a situation that the team wants to make public…..we are not obligated to know what’s going on with them. If Aneessa and Angel had any issues with each other, I’m sure they would’ve been big girls about it and talked things out privately.

[williamthurston]

GOD BLESS YOU ANGEL AND COACH MULKEY ❤

[danielpires]

LSU will not repeat as National Champions, and the NCAA is making sure of that. Every week LSU has won and despite winning the NCAA keeps them ranked at #7, while other teams ranked lower than them have been bumped up ahead of LSU, including Iowa which lost a game and instead of dropping below LSU, remains ahead of them. This is being done deliberately so that when the NCAA tournament seeding comes around LSU would be a 2, 3, 4, seed guaranteeing they have to play top-seeded teams throughout the tournament, and with no rest between games. The NCAA wants LSU to lose because they are upset over Angel Reese teasing Caitlin Clark in last season's title game. LSU should be ranked # 2 in the country, not #7 week after week no matter who they beat. They blew out Iowa and have a better team than last year's team while Iowa clearly does not have a better team, yet the NCAA is keeping Iowa in the top, so they can end up with a # 1 seed. The NCAA is cheating LSU.

[WTFZAE]

Morrow was on fire she definitely got the team fired up in the 3rd quarter major confident boost

[iguillo]

LSU looked like the best team in the nation last night!

[snowyecole]

My Goodness these commentator always talking about the player business the whole game 😞 Sick of it just stick to the game and the player. Good game😊

[JBHarris]

That coach let his player foul out in the first half smh... TERRIBLE

[ericbanks]

Flaujaue most improved big 4 is balling 💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿