BATON ROUGE – By the time Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors and his team settled into the game and looked up at the video board, they already trailed by a lot inside a hostile Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

No. 10 LSU women's basketball, behind an 18-0 run to open the game, had doubled up the Hogs by the midway point through the second quarter. Shooting north of 40% in the first 13 minutes, led by the outside shot, the Tigers cruised to a 99-68 victory Sunday night.

The win for LSU (18-2, 5-1) and Kim Mulkey sets the stage for a monster showdown with No. 1 South Carolina (17-0, 5-0) and Dawn Staley Thursday night.

LSU women's basketball freshman sensation Mikaylah Williams finding footing in SEC

The start of SEC play has been an adjustment period for LSU freshman sensation Mikaylah Williams. Some of the ways she had been able to impact games for the Tigers during nonconference schedule hadn't quite panned out yet.

Against Arkansas, she may have regained her footing. The Bossier City product scored 15 of the team's first 33 points, going 6-of-7 from the field during that stretch.

Williams knocked down three 3's in the first 12 minutes. Her passing and rebounding made a difference as well, securing boards, racing down the court to find open teammates. The freshman finished with a game-high 21 points along with nine rebounds and three assists.

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In the scorching first half, it was all about the drive-and-kick game with the guards to open wing players. The Tigers were hot and the shots from Williams, Hailey Van Lith, Flau'jae Johnson – even Angel Reese hit a 3 – were falling in the first half to give LSU a big, 55-28 halftime lead.

Out of the locker room, Mulkey called for her team to focus on the inside game with Reese and Aneesah Morrow. Reese finished with 16 points, 17 rebounds and Morrow kicked in 14.

The team scored 22 points in the paint in the second half.

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From the tip, LSU was determined to get the ball out and run in transition off misses. It just so happened that Arkansas took plenty of shots, making just 28% of its attempts and the Tiger guards, Van Lith, Williams, Last-Tear Poa and Johnson used that to their advantage.

LSU pushed the pace, drove the basket a lot and dished when the land wasn't open. That led to open 3-pointers, which the Tigers knocked down 8-of-16 of those.

Van Lith, who scored 20, and Poa led LSU's quick approach, each with six assists. As a team, the Tigers finished with 21.

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU women's basketball cruises to big win over Arkansas