LSU junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley had a career performance against the 17th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels with 26 points, lifting the seventh-ranked Tigers to a 78-70 victory Thursday night in the Sandy and John Black Pavilion.
With the victory, LSU improved its record to 23-4 overall and 9-4 in the Southeastern Conference. With the loss, Ole Miss dropped to 21-7 on the year and 8-5 in league play.
LSU returns to action on Sunday to face the Missouri Tigers inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The contest is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network with Roy Philpott (pxp) and Charli Turner-Thorne (analyst) on the call. Fans can also listen to the LSU Sports Radio Network with Patrick Wright and Shaeeta Williams calling the action.
The fourth quarter defense for LSU shined against the Rebels, holding the home team to 0-of-17 shooting with the only points coming from seven free throws. The 0-for-17 tied for the most field goal attempts without a make in a fourth quarter of a Division I game in the last five seasons, per CBB Analytics. LSU outscored Ole Miss, 24-7, in the quarter.
LSU overcame a 10-plus point deficit for the first time since the Tigers came back from 12 points down against Kentucky on February 23, 2025. In the last 6:24 of the game, LSU went on a massive 19-1 scoring run to secure the ranked victory.
Fulwiley, the Tigers’ leading scorer on the night, finished with her career high in points while also recording seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and three steals. LSU senior Flau’jae Johnson put up 18 points on the night as the second leading scorer with five rebounds and three assists.
At the first media timeout, LSU held the 14-7 lead over Ole Miss with 5:55 left in the quarter. Johnson got off to a torrid start offensively scoring nine points and going perfect from the field (3-3), three-point line (1-1) and charity stripe (2-2). At the conclusion of the quarter, the Tigers led 26-21 with the Rebels outscoring LSU 11-10 in the back half of the period.
In the second quarter, Ole Miss was able to tighten its deficit and eventually tie the ballgame at 31 with 5:53 remaining in the half. By the quarter’s media timeout, the Rebels had put up 10 points to the Tigers five. In the remainder of the half, Ole Miss outscored LSU 9-6 to take the 43-37 advantage into the locker room.
Coming out of halftime, LSU put together a scoring spurt to bring its deficit to two. Ole Miss would follow that up with an 11-0 scoring run that gave the Rebels a 13-point lead with 5:28 left in the quarter. LSU responded on the back half of the quarter and went into the fourth quarter with the Rebels leading 63-54.
LSU made several attempts in the fourth quarter to shrink its deficit. Down 65-54 early in the quarter, the Tigers made a 12-4 run to tie the ballgame at 69 with three minutes left. Fulwiley would give LSU the lead on two free throws and the Tigers would not relinquish, winning 78-70 against the Rebels.
READ MORE:MiLaysia Fulwiley records career high 26 points; leads LSU women’s basketball to win over Ole Miss
