×

Michigan Wolverines women’s basketball team knocked out by LSU in bruising 2nd-round NCAA women’s tournament game

LSU forward Angel Reese, center, is fouled by Michigan forward Emily Kiser, right, in the second half of a second-round women’s NCAA Tournament game in Baton Rouge, La., on Sunday. (AP photo)

BATON ROUGE, La. — A bleeding upper lip with gauze stuffed under it and dislodged eyelash extension wasn’t exactly the look that the LSU sensation known as “Bayou Barbie” was going for.

Not that resembling a boxer was going to stop Angel Reese from delivering a ferocious, high-stakes performance that dismantled Michigan on both ends of the court.

“It’s always something,” said a smiling Reese, who earlier this season blocked a shot while holding one of her dislodged shoes in her other hand. “Either a lash, a contact — always got something going on — but I play through it.”

Reese had 25 points, 24 rebounds, six blocks, four assists and three steals to lead third-seeded LSU to a 66-42 victory over the No. 6 seed Wolverines on Sunday night in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

The 6-foot-3 All-America forward became the first player to have that many points and rebounds in the same NCAA Tournament game, and most of her production came after a shot to her mouth drew blood in the opening minutes.

Michigan forward Naz Hillmon passes the ball to a teammate against Maryland during the first half on Dec. 28, 2019, in College Park, Md. (AP file photo)

“I knew my team needed me,” Reese said. “So, I did whatever it takes. A bloody lip and bloody mouth, I’ll figure it out.”

Alexis Morris scored 11 and LaDazhia Williams had 10 points and 10 rebounds for LSU (30-2), which never trailed and held Michigan (23-10) to its lowest point total this season.

Laila Phelia scored 20 points for Michigan, which opened the second half with a 7-0 run to pull as close as eight points, but quickly went back down by double digits for good after Reese’s layup and Kateri Poole’s 3.

Reese played with relentless determination, three times chasing driving U-M players in the lane to swat shots away from behind.

She was a menace to Michigan rebounders on both ends of the court. She grabbed 14 offensive rebounds. And after one, Emily Kiser was called for an intentional foul when she knocked Reese to the floor on a putback attempt.

LSU had 18 second-chance points to Michigan’s 2, and although both teams shot 35%, LSU got off 68 shots to Michigan’s 46.

“It was the offensive rebounding that really killed us,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “Emily is a little undersized and probably not nearly as strong as Angel, but she tried to get physical and then when she got physical, she got called for an intentional foul, which was something that she’s never gotten before in her career.”

———

ROUGH START

The first quarter was a defensive struggle in which both teams looked prepared to exert as much physical force as officials would permit. After Reese got hit, she intermittently rubbed her lip and looked at her finger tips to check for blood for much the quarter. Later, she lost one of her eyelash extensions while tangled up inside with Kiser and Leigha Brown.

“I knew she was mad about her eyelashes,” said Poole, who has known Reese since before college and said she also made a remark to Reese during the game about her lip. “She’s very funny and I told her she looked like a beaver.”

Reese delivered punishment, too, flattening Kiser on a drive down the lane. Kiser drew the charge, but stayed down for several moments, placing her hand on the part of her upper body that took the blow, before teammates helped her up.

“It was super physical,” Kiser said of her matchup with Reese. “Definitely going to feel that tomorrow morning. Wish I did a better job. But yeah, she’s a great player.”

———

BIG PICTURE

Michigan: After reaching the regional finals last season and and the regional semifinals in 2021, Michigan’s tournament ended in the second round for the first time since 2019. The Wolverines’ previous scoring low this season was 52 in a loss at Indiana on Feb. 16.

LSU: Mulkey is now 3-0 against Barnes Arico in the NCAA Tournament, with each meeting coming since 2018 and two while Mulkey was at Baylor. Outrebounded Michigan 46-26.

___

AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today