BATON ROUGE — Angel Reese was barreled over by Rice's Hailey Adams with less than a minute remaining in the first half while going for an entrance pass into the post. Reese smacked the court twice with both hands as Mikaylah Williams trotted over to assist her up from the floor.

The star junior's face once she arose embodied how the first half shook out for LSU women's basketball in its 2024 NCAA Tournament opening game Friday afternoon. Nothing was easy and there was plenty of frustration.

The No. 3 Tigers (29-5) looked sloppy in the first half as the Owls (19-15), coming off winning the American Athletic Conference tournament to earn an automatic bid into March Madness, gained more confidence as LSU struggled.

Behind Aneesah Morrow and Reese, the Tigers eventually found their footing but still had to fight off a late surge from the Owls to win 70-60 inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU advances to play No. 11 Middle Tennessee State in the Round of 32 on Sunday. The Blue Raiders (30-4) upset No. 6 Louisville 71-69 in the first-round game earlier Friday.

LSU women's basketball struggles with turnovers

In a 6:41 stretch of the opening stanza, LSU turned the ball over more than it had points, piling up eight miscues.

The cough-ups prevented LSU from establishing any sort of early rhythm on the offensive end. And the turnovers allowed Rice to hang around for the first 18 or so minutes of the game.

LSU led 12-6 by the end of the first quarter, both season-low, first-quarter point totals for both teams.

Rice converted LSU's 24 turnovers, a season-high, to 16 points during the game. LSU has seven points off 16 Rice turnovers.

In the third quarter, LSU only turned the ball over four times and went a long stretch without committing one. In that time, the Tigers were able to build their lead out to their largest of the game, 53-42, as the game moved to the final period.

Last-Tear Poa plays, gives Kim Mulkey big minutes in tight game with Rice

In her first game back from suffering a concussion in the SEC Tournament semifinals against Ole Miss, Last-Tear Poa played big minutes for Kim Mulkey and LSU.

With Hailey Van Lith in early foul in the first half, Mulkey called upon Poa.

On her first possession in the game, Poa got a block, announcing her return to the court for the Tigers as she's known for her defensive prowess.

Poa played 19 minutes, scoring nine points with one assist, but had two blocks and one steal on the defensive end.

LSU's defense leads charge into 2024 NCAA Tournament second round

Because of the turnovers and Rice slowing down the pace of the game for extended stretches, the Tigers' offense battled inconsistency and a few lulls.

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But while the offense contended with some execution issues, LSU leaned heavily on its defense. LSU limited Rice to just 37% shooting (23 of 62) and while the Owls drew close at the end of the first half and deep into the third quarter, LSU never relinquished its lead, which got down to two points on numerous occasions.

Rice's best player Malia Fisher scored 13 but went 6-of-15 from the floor.

Four of LSU's starters finished in double-digits. Reese collected her 13th straight double-double, with 10 points and 19 rebounds.

Aneesah Morrow scored a game-high 15 points along with four blocks while Flau'jae Johnson and Williams each recorded 14 points.

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

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU women's basketball outlasts Rice in 2024 NCAA Tournament matchup