Morrow scores 19 with 13 boards in homecoming as No. 5 LSU beats Illinois Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) — Aneesah Morrow had 19 points and 13 rebounds playing in her hometown, and No. 5 LSU beat Illinois Chicago 91-73 on Thursday night.

Flau’Jae Johnson added 23 points and 11 boards, and Mikaylah Williams chipped in with 17 points and seven assists. LSU (14-0) pulled away from UIC (2-6) in the third quarter, scoring 12 straight to break open an eight-point game.

Morrow, who came in leading the nation with 14.1 rebounds per game, got a warm reception from a large contingent of family and friends in the crowd. The 6-foot-1 forward starred at Simeon Career Academy on the South Side, where former NBA MVP Derrick Rose played, and then at DePaul for two years. She transferred to LSU prior to last season to compete for national championships.

Morrow got off to a sluggish start, missing six of her first seven shots, but finished 8 of 16 from the field.

Arin Freeman led UIC with 19 points, and Makiyah Williams scored 15.

Takeaways

LSU: The Tigers again showed why they are one of the nation's best teams, even if it took them awhile to put away the pesky Flames.

UIC: The Flames can take some comfort in hanging with the No. 5 Tigers for more than a half.

Key moment

LSU broke open an eight-point game by scoring 12 in a row. Last-Tear Poa drove for a three-point play to start the run. Johnson scored six in that stretch, including a tip-in that made it 53-33 with just under six minutes left in the quarter.

Key stat

LSU dominated 28-10 in points off turnovers and outrebounded UIC 40-29.

Up next

LSU hosts Albany on Dec. 29 before opening SEC play at Arkansas four days later. UIC hosts Ohio on Sunday.

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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