It ended in a blowout, but LSU held it close in the 2nd and 3rd. It was largely due to Morris’s heroics — I didn’t think she had it in her. But I think they deserve some respect for playing a better team close for as long as they did. I’m sure this was a new experience for them, being so thoroughly over matched at every position.
Reese was a non-factor, and got some junk points at the end to make her stat line seem a bit more respectable. But even with that, I think she showed some grit and talent. The taunting and showboating was gone — one moment in the third it peeked out when she said “too small” to Saxton after one of her few baskets. But I think even she could see how ridiculous that had to seem in the eyes of the world.
My conclusion after this game is that LSU is definitely a top ten team, and maybe even a top 5 team. They are too thin on talent to really run with SC. But a lot of folks here (me included) like to cherish high hopes for an even thinner team.
And after today, I think no one can really stop SC. Unless there’s a disaster or a fluke, they look like NC favorites to me.
I'd put LSU in the 12-16 range, they are solid but they just have very inconsistent play all around although they have talent in spots Morris, Reese, Flaujae, Sa'Myah and Ladazhia is a solid core but LSU's freshmen at time go through up and downs. Its much less steady than last years team of all seniors who were mostly consistent every night. But this is what happens when you play freshmen. Very few freshmen have a steady presence every game year one.
I was proud of the team for fighting back when the game could have ended much sooner but the foul trouble kept piling on and then the depth of SC took over by late in the third and that was it. I expected Flaujae to struggle but to be that non existent in a game was pretty bad. 11 minutes with 3 fouls and 1 shot attempt for the 3rd leading scorer on the team (13 PPG) is just not acceptable. LSU already is thinner than a sheet of paper, to get that little from her is just not gonna cut it. Kim should have attempted to run some sets for her but they gave up on her way too quick IMO. I think they panicked and just rode Morris hoping Reese would eventually wake up (which she did not).
Looking strictly at the benches:
SC: 34 points 21 rebounds
LSU: 15 points 9 rebounds
Stanford may be one of the few teams who could match up or be somewhat competitive with SC, mostly because of Brink and Jones but I'd be interested to see what thats like on a neutral court. I just think SC is way too deep, talented, experienced this year. They have a machine rolling right now
