LSU women's basketball has been working on its defense. Texas A&M win proves it's close
Questions rattled off Kim Mulkey's tongue during her postgame press conference Monday night.
No. 13 LSU women's basketball had just cruised to an 81-58 win over Texas A&M, in a game where she said she felt "very comfortable from start to finish" inside Reed Arena.
That comfort came from the Tigers' performance on defense, a stifling outing from every player on the floor all first half that allowed them to build up to as large as a 30-point lead early in the third quarter.
LSU's defense was highlighted by holding A&M to foor points in the second quarter on 11.1% percent shooting. While Mulkey was comfortable and satisfied with how the Tigers defended through the first two periods, the LSU coach still had questions on what caliber level they locked down.
"Were they good shots that A&M took? Were they contested shots?" Mulkey said. "Did they just miss wide open shots? I thought A&M got some wide open looks, they just missed.
"We've got to continue to teach on the defensive end because that could us some night. There could be days where we can't score the ball."
Sophomore star Flau'jae Johnson kept A&M's leading scorer Aicha Coulibaly in check for much of the game — six points through the first three quarters. Angel Reese and Aneesah Morrow took turns on the Aggies' best player, sophomore forward Janiah Barker, and the different looks prevented her from establishing an offensive rhythm until the game was in hand in the fourth.
Much like it did two weeks ago after losing back-to-back games against No. 1 South Carolina and at Mississippi State, LSU (22-4, 9-4) worked almost exclusively on its defense through its idle week.
Two days centered around the team's transition defense, which has been an issue all-season long and has been exploited by opponents like Colorado in the season opener, the Gamecocks and State in crunch-time situations.
LSU also worked on its halfcourt defense.
Improvements in those departments were on display against the Aggies on Monday night. A&M shot 32% for the game and scored just 58 points, both benchmarks that Mulkey looks for in her team's defensive efforts.
It's the fourth straight game the Tigers have held opponents to below 69 points and 40% shooting.
"This week was outstanding for us. We took two days off and spent two days hardly shooting the ball. It was all about defense," Mulkey said. "Let's get better at transition defense, let's get better in halfcourt.
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"I thought in the first half, five LSU players were all guarding the ball and helping each other. It got a little sloppy in the third and fourth quarter."
The second half, where A&M shot 44% and put up 44 points, will be the cry from Mulkey to her team that there's still work to do.
But it's stellar first-half defense provides the proof to the Tigers that they're not that far off.
"You build on that," Mulkey said. "You get in the film room and you show them how did we do that?"
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU women's basketball's defense in Texas A&M win shows it's close
