March Madness: LSU, Angel Reese out-grind Miami to punch Final Four ticket
Style points don't matter in March.
Miami's defense dragged LSU into the muck Sunday in a grind of an Elite Eight matchup. But the Tigers prevailed out of their comfort zone for a 54-42 win to advance to the Final Four. They did so while falling nine points below their previous season-low output of 63 points.
The sluggish tone was set from the start as LSU took a 10-8 first-quarter lead with neither team shooting better than 25% from the floor. Miami's pressure defense flustered the nation's fifth-highest-scoring offense as LSU fell well below its pace of 82.7 points per game.
All-SEC forward Angel Reese failed to score a field goal in nine first-half attempts while SEC freshman of the year Flau'jae Johnson managed two first-half points on a 1-of-4 effort from the floor. Reese repeatedly met resistance at the rim, while LSU shot 0 of 11 outside the paint in the first half.
Reese shines despite struggles from the field
But Reese found other ways to contribute. She went to the line 10 times, yielding seven points to go with eight first-half rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.
Miami's offense, meanwhile, struggled from outside in an 0-for-9 first-half effort from 3-point distance. Unlike the Tigers, the Hurricanes didn't make up ground at the stripe. They didn't attempt a single first-half free throw.
LSU found breathing room with a 6-0 second-quarter run and went into halftime with a 26-20 edge. Reese then ended her field-goal drought with a layup in the first minute of the third quarter as LSU started to pull away. Midway through the stanza, she'd recorded her 32nd double-double of the season, a single-season SEC record, en route 13 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. LSU limited Miami to seven third-quarter points as it entered the fourth with a 38-27 lead.
LSU coach Kim Mulkey acknowledged the offensive struggles during an interview between quarters.
"If I was watching this game, I'd turn it off," she told ESPN. "Look at that score, would you? That's some bad offensive basketball."
LSU's offense wasn't much better in the fourth in a 13-point effort. Meanwhile, an 8-0 Miami run kept the pressure on. But LSU never let the Hurricanes closer than eight points in the final quarter.
LSU clamps down on Miami
Its defense, meanwhile, was up to the task throughout the game in a smothering effort against a Miami team that entered the game averaging 70.4 points per game. The Tigers limited All-ACC forward Destiny Harden to one point on an 0-for-9 effort from the field. The Hurricanes missed all 15 of their 3-point attempts and shot 31.6% from the field.
Senior guard Alexis Morris led LSU with 21 points, including some late, driving buckets to fend off the Miami rally. Sophomore guard Jasmyne Roberts paced Miami with 22 points on 10-of-20 field goals as the only Hurricanes starter to make more than one shot from the field. Miami's leading scorer Haley Cavinder (12.5 points per game) finished with two points on a 1-for-6 effort.
LSU will face the winner of Monday's Virginia Tech-Ohio State game in Friday's Final Four.
