Carson and Reese lead LSU to a 90-79 win in Florida

Gainesville, Florida— Jasmine Carson’s career-high 25 points and was helped by Angel Reese’s 25 points and 16 rebounds to lead No. 5 LSU (25-1, 13-1 SEC) to a 90-79 win over the Florida Gators (14th). -12, 3-10 SEC.).

The 3,498 crowd at Extactech Arena was Florida’s largest home crowd of the season as many LSU fans came out to support the Tigers.

“I thought we controlled the game,” said coach Kim Mulkey. “I felt very good about what we did throughout the game. I think you will get the best for everyone. We are no longer an insider tip. We are relevant. I have kids all over social media seeing these young people on the street. I think that is reflected in their participation today.”

To reach her career high, Carson nailed seven threes, the most by an LSU player since Pietra Gay also had seven in 1997. Reese hit her 25th double-double in 26 games this season in the first half Sunday afternoon and she finished with 25 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals.

LaDazhia Williams recorded her third double-double of the season as she added 15 points and downed 10 boards. Flau’jae Johnson had 12 goals, including 10 in the last quarter, and Alexis Morris led with 6 assists.

Kirsten Deans led Florida with 30 points on 10-20 shooting and 5 three-pointers. Ra Shaya Kyle and Jordyn Merritt were the other Gators in double digits, both scoring 12 points.

Next up this week, the Tigers will be heading to Vanderbilt for a Thursday night matchup. Tip-Off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on SEC Network+.

Florida took an early lead by 6 points and 13-7, but the Tigers fought back to tie things up at 15 for the first media timeout. Morris and Johnson both committed two quick fouls in the first game, benching them early in the game. Carson and Reese led the first quarter by 8 points each. Reese went 4-4 and had five rebounds and Carson hit two from deep to help LSU take a 27-23 lead after the first ten minutes.

The first quarter featured five lead changes and five draws. LSU’s 27 points in the first quarter was the most in the opening quarter of any game this season within conference play.

Last-Tear Poa hit a deep three on the wing to open the second quarter and take the LSU lead to seven. Poa’s three started a 10-0 run that gave the Tigers their biggest lead of the night, taking a 14-lead lead in the first four minutes of game two without Florida scoring. Carson hit back-to-back threes in 32 seconds for a total of 5 threes halfway through his career. LSU went into the break with a 47-31 lead after holding the Gators to just 8 points in the second quarter.

The Tigers were on fire in the first half, making 56 percent of their shot attempts (67 percent from beyond the arc) to jump to the 16-point lead. Carson set a career high with five pre-half threes as she and Reese had a combined 31 first-half points. After a 36-point, 20-rebound game against Texas A&M Thursday, Reese kept it going and finished the first half with 14 points and 13 rebounds, her ninth double-double of the first half of the season.

For the first five minutes of the third quarter, Florida kept the Tigers scoreless and cut the lead to 9 after putting together a 9-0 run. A technical foul on Nina Rickards sent Morris to the foul line, which snatched the Florida run 2-2 and gave LSU their first points of the quarter. Carson continued her career performance from deep as she hit three points for a total of 20 and brought the LSU lead back to double digits.

The Gators surpassed LSU in the third 19-12 and were nine points down going into the final quarter. The Tigers shot just 26.7 percent in the quarter and failed to get their desired post touches as the Gators crushed the LSU lead.

Johnson scored 10 points on 4-4 shooting in the fourth quarter to reach double digits. Reese scored 11 more and both Williams and Carson had 5 in the final quarter. Florida’s Deans fell 13 behind in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough to break the deficit. Florida earned 7 points from free throws and only had two boards. The Tigers held their lead and ended the night with an 11-point win for LSU’s 25th win of the season.

(LSU Athletics press release)