Spokane regional: LSU powers past NC State 80-73 to make third straight Elite Eight
LSU guard Flau'Jae Johnson (4) drives the ball into the key as NC State guard Madison Hayes (21) defends during a Spokane Regional 1 Sweet 16 NCAA women’s basketball game, Friday, March 28, 2025, in the Spokane Arena. (COLIN MULVANY)
For those at the Arena who haven’t seen much SEC women’s basketball, LSU’s Aneesah Morrow put on a monster display Friday of what life is like in one of the toughest conferences in the nation.
The 6-foot-1 senior, a first-team All-SEC selection, had a masterful double-double with 30 points and 19 rebounds. She muscled her way to nine offensive rebounds, scoring on seven.
It added up to an 80-73 win for No. 3-seed LSU over No. 2 North Carolina State in the Sweet 16 victory in the Spokane Regional 1.
LSU (31-5) moves on to meet UCLA (33-2) in the Elite Eight on Sunday. Tipoff is at noon.
It’s the third consecutive year LSU coach Kim Mulkey is taking a team into a regional final. The Tigers are seeking a second national championship in three years.
North Carolina State, a Final Four participant last year, finished 28-7.
Something Morrow shared with her team in a fourth-quarter timeout gave weight to her impact and LSU’s dominance inside in general.
“I talked to my teammates in the huddle and told them to take their matchups personally, and we have to be able to dominate and we have to make defensive stops,” Morrow said.
NC State led 69-64 with 4:27 remaining.
A little less than three minutes later, the Tigers had a 76-73 lead.
LSU made 6 of 6 free throws in the final 44.7 seconds to close out the Wolfpack.
It’s the second time this season LSU has beaten NC State. They met in November in the Bahamas, a game in which the Tigers outrebounded the Wolfpack by 20 on their way to an 82-65 runaway win.
The rematch was predictably tight throughout, but the critical difference again was rebounding. LSU finished with 52 to the Wolfpack’s 36 – 18 coming on the offensive end.
LSU feasted on second-chance points, outscoring the Wolfpack 22-11. And the Tigers won the battle in the key, outscoring North Carolina State 42-22.
“Same problem we had with them in November, we couldn’t keep them off the boards,” NC State coach Wes Moore said. “Morrow in particular. We knew she was going to be a handful and she was. We had a hard time guarding her down there and keeping her off the glass.”
Mulkey joked that Morrow should have had 20 rebounds.
“She’s been so reliable, but she was extraordinary tonight,” Mulkey said. “She’s an undersized post in there battling bigger girls, demanding the ball and guarding on the perimeter.”
Three Tigers combined for 70 of LSU’s 80 points. Sa’Myah Smith had a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Mikaylah Williams added 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
The Wolfpack overcame a slow start in the first half. Seemingly settling for shots from the perimeter, NC State started working the ball inside, taking advantage of alert cutting and slashing.
Morrow gave the Tigers their biggest first-half lead at 21-10 when she made a 3-pointer with 3:43 to go in the first quarter.
NC State cut the lead to 23-15 going into the second quarter. The Tigers made just four of their first 13 shots.
Zamareya Jones’ back-to-back 3-pointers pulled NC State even at 25. Then Jones scored off a driving move to give the Wolfpack their first lead at 30-29 with 4:36 left in the second.
NC State pushed the margin to 40-36 by halftime.