Seven games. Seven times scoring 100 points.
Can No. 5 LSU make it eight and eight on Saturday when they meet Washington State in the Reef Division Championship of the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)?
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The Cougars, like all of the Tigers’ prior opponents, are not particularly imposing. Among the array of overmatched mid-majors that LSU has played, none currently has a winning record. Washington State enters the matchup fresh off their lone win of the season.
And yet, scoring at least 100 points in an NCAA-record seven-straight games is still real achievement. While a reflection of LSU’s overwhelming talent advantage, the consistency with which they have poured in the points is indicative of a team that is locked in, not allowing their competitiveness to wane against opponents that do not demand a full 40-minute effort. No team can simply stumble into scoring an average of 112 points per game with an average margin of victory of more than 57 points per game, two Tiger marks that lead the nation.
Even adjusted for their Charmin-soft schedule, LSU still owns the nation’s best offense, per Basketball Reference’s offensive simple rating system calculation. In fact, their rating of 42.37 outpaces second-place Texas by almost 12 points. Based on Basketball Reference’s adjusted offensive rating, which estimates points scored per 100 possessions, the Tigers’ offense is second best in the nation, rated at 129.66 behind UCLA’s 132.13.
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The dynamic backcourt duo of senior Flau’Jae Johnson and junior MiLaysia Fulwiley drives LSU’s offensive dominance. After Flau’Jae, LSU’s leading scorer at 17.1 points per game, gets things started, torturing opponents with her three-level scoring star power, MiLaysia then comes in to exacerbate opponents’ problems, turning defense into offense as she averages 4.5 steals and 16.7 points per game. Johnson, who has been particularly electric from behind the arc, going 14-for-25 from 3 for a career-best 56 percent, is doing her damage in less than 23 minutes per game. Fulwiley is playing under 19 minutes per game.
The Tigers’ talent only starts with those two, as five more players are scoring in double-figures: freshman guard ZaKiyah Johnson (13.7), junior wing Mikaylah Williams (13.1), sophomore center Kate Koval (11.3), senior forward Amiya Joyner (10.3) and freshman forward Grace Knox (10.1).
It will be a shocker if LSU doesn’t, once again, cruise beyond the century mark, running up the score past 100 points for the eighth-straight game as they win the Paradise Jam with ease.
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Their following game, however, will serve as the first real test for Tigers. On Thursday, LSU travels to Durham to meet Duke in the ACC/SEC Challenge. While the Blue Devils have been the most disappointing team in all of women’s college basketball, their issues are not on the defensive end. Stopping the Tigers’ streak of 100-point games can serve as small win for the Blue Devils. Or, maybe LSU not only will prove that their offense is, in fact, an unstoppable force by crossing the century mark for a ninth-straight game.
Here are three more offensive-focused points of interest to watch for on Saturday:
The Cowgirls are sharpshooters
No. 24 Oklahoma State leads the nation with 12 made 3s per game, cashing in on almost 39 percent of their 31 attempts as a team.
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On Friday night, they failed to make double-digit 3s for just the second time this season, going 7-for-26 in an eventual 74-65 win over Charlotte at the Caymans Island Classic. That performance shouldn’t deter the 7-1 Cowgirls from getting off their triples in Saturday’s matchup against Miami (11 a.m. ET, FloSports).
Freshman guard Lena Giradi, daughter of former MLB catcher and manger Joe Girardi, headlines OSU’s 3-point onslaught, taking 8.6 triples per game and converting better than 40 percent. Micah Gray just trails, with 7.9 3s attempted per game and a shooting percentage of 38.1 percent.
Mikayla Blakes gets buckets
Points, points and more points?
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That’s certainly Mikayla Blakes’ speciality. The Vanderbilt sophomore guard dropped a season-high 35 points in Thursday’s 88-66 win over Oregon State, with 23 coming in the first half. For the season, Blakes is up to 25.1 points per game, third in the nation behind Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo (27.0) and Florida’s Liv McGill (26.2).
Blakes and the No. 17 Commodores will close out their participation in the Island Division of the Paradise Jam against BYU (12 p.m. ET, ESPN+). Both teams enter the game an undefeated 7-0.
3s are on Carolina’s mind
Over at the Cancun Challenge, No. 12 North Carolina will look to further establish themselves as the best team in the ACC by defeating Columbia (1:30 p.m. ET, FloSports).
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On Friday, the usually defense-first Tar Heels enjoyed a 3-point outburst in their 85-73 win over Kansas State, with UNC equalling the program record with 14 made 3s. Sophomore guard Lanie Grant matched her career-high with four triples. Freshman guard Nyla Brooks then matched Grant, netting four 3s of her own. Brooks now leads the Tar Heels in scoring, averaging 12.4 points per game while shooting almost 45 percent from 3.
Senior guard Indya Nivar was 2-for-2 from downtown, following up her triple-double of 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in Carolina’s 83-48 win over South Dakota State—only the second triple-double in program history—with 14 points, seven assists and four steals.
