Johnson scores 25 points as No. 7 LSU beat Eastern Kentucky in opener

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Flau’jae Johnson scored 25 points, and No. 7 LSU pounded Eastern Kentucky 95-44 on Monday night in the season opener for each team.

Aneesah Morrow had 20 points and nine rebounds for LSU (1-0), which led 48-24 at halftime. Mikaylah Williams scored 18 points after missing a couple of preseason games with a sprained ankle.

Tigers forward Sa’Myah Smith, who missed most of last year with a knee injury, had 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots in her return.

Liz Freihofer, Alice Recanati and Kaitly Costner led Eastern Kentucky (0-1) with nine points apiece.

Takeaways

Eastern Kentucky: The Colonels never got into a rhythm. They hit two consecutive shots three times but never anything past that.

LSU: Though the Tigers were missing three players (two injured, one for personal reasons), it was a steady opener for a team incorporating four new players into the rotation.

Key moment

LSU got off to a slow start, but Johnson scored nine points in a 14-2 run that lifted the Tigers to a 21-8 lead.

Key stat

Eastern Kentucky was 18 of 69 from the field, including a 6-for-31 performance from 3-point range.

Up next

LSU hosts Northwestern (La.) State on Friday night in the second of six straight home games to open the season. Also on Friday, Eastern Kentucky plays at home vs. Tennessee State.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball