Smith, Wolfenbarger double-doubles lead No. 7 LSU past Georgia
BATON ROUGE – Sa’Myah Smith and Jersey Wolfenbarger both recorded double-doubles as No. 7 LSU (26-2, 11-2 SEC) took down Georgia (10-17, 2-11 SEC) Thursday night in the PMAC, 79-63.
“I think I’ve learned a lot from this program,” Wolfenbarger said. “Since being here, they’ve kind of elevated my game in different ways.”
Aneesah Morrow missed Thursday’s game with foot soreness, but is expected to be back for Sunday’s matchup at No. 14 Kentucky which will be at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN. Prior to Thursday, Morrow had played in all 130 games throughout her college career.
Smith had 11 points and 12 rebounds while Wolfenbarger finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Flau’Jae Johnson led the team with 28 points, her 37th straight game scoring in double figures, and had three steals. Mikaylah Williams scored 12 points with 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Kaylin Gilbert also scored in double figures with 15 points
Georgia’s Trinity Turner had a game-high 28 points with 5 rebounds.
Both teams shot 42-percent from the field, but LSU found an edge creating turnovers and grabbing offensive rebounds. The Tigers grabbed 19 rebounds on the offensive glass, allowing them to outscore Georgia in second chance points, 20-6. LSU forced 17 Georgia turnovers, leading to 20 points off turnovers. Additionally, LSU got to the line significantly more than Georgia with 11 more made free throws than the Bulldogs.
“We all ultimately know what we want to do, and that’s to go win a championship or be at that level,” Smith said. “So, you know, we take care of things that we have to.”
Within the first four minutes of the game, every LSU starter had scored after Last-Tear Poa sank a three to go up 15-8. Johnson hit her second triple of the night to put LSU up, 20-10, as Georgia took a timeout. LSU finished the quarter going just 1-10 from the field and went into the second quarter with a 20-12 lead.
The Tigers started the second quarter on a 7-2 run as the Tigers were able to get out in transition and Georgia took another timeout. By the 3:02 mark, Georgia cut LSU’s lead to six. The Tigers took a 37-30 lead into the second half.
Georgia cut the lead to five early in the third, but LSU used a 6-0 run to build its lead back and Kailyn Gilbert drained a mid-range shot that pushed the Tiger lead to 11 at the 5:13 mark of the third quarter. With 1.2 remaining in the period, Johnson took an inbounds pass and heaved up a half-court 3 that found nothing but net at the buzzer, extending the LSU lead, 58-45.
In the first four minutes of the final quarter, LSU built its lead to 20 points, slamming the door on any potential Georgia comeback. The game ended 79-63 in favor of the Tigers.
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