{"id":130898,"date":"2026-03-21T21:04:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T00:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/900981634"},"modified":"2026-03-21T21:04:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T00:04:18","slug":"lsu-meets-defensive-minded-texas-tech-in-round-of-32-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/21\/lsu-meets-defensive-minded-texas-tech-in-round-of-32-showdown\/","title":{"rendered":"LSU Meets Defensive-Minded Texas Tech In Round of 32 Showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\"MiLaysia
The second-seeded LSU women’s basketball team will look to advance to its fourth straight Sweet 16 on Sunday when it faces seventh-seeded Texas Tech (Photo by LSU Athletics).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter <\/strong><\/p>\n

On Sunday, Kim Mulkey and her Tigers will look to advance to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season. The second-seeded LSU women\u2019s basketball team will face seventh-seeded Texas Tech inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2 p.m., ABC).<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

LSU was dominant in its 116-58 first-round win over 15th-seeded Jacksonville on Friday. The Tigers\u2019 116 points marked the most ever scored in program history in an NCAA Tournament game.<\/p>\n

But scoring may not come as easily on Sunday. Texas Tech (26-7, 12-6 Big 12) brings one of the nation\u2019s most aggressive defenses into the matchup with LSU (28-5, 12-4 SEC). The Lady Raiders rank No. 29 nationally in total defense, allowing just 57.9 points per game.<\/p>\n

Junior guard Mikaylah Williams said ball security will be critical against a defense that capitalizes on mistakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important in every game,\u201d Williams said Saturday. \u201cBut obviously we want to go in there, take care of the ball, but we want to break their press and score, not necessarily just break their press to break it. We want to break it to go score. Let\u2019s run and run and run and possibly get up out of it and then we can really run our sets and get our offense going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Texas Tech is known for pressing for the full 40 minutes, but Mulkey said it\u2019s nothing her team hasn\u2019t seen before.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust be able to handle the ball, don\u2019t turn it over,\u201d Mulkey said. \u201cWhen you get by them, go score at the other end. But we\u2019re prepared for all of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Krista Gerlich on #LSU<\/a>: \u201cMake them work for their points. We can\u2019t turn the ball over. They\u2019re going to score, we just let them get easy baskets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Cory Diaz (@ByCoryDiaz) March 21, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It won\u2019t be the first time LSU has faced that kind of pressure this season. Both Ole Miss and Texas applied heavy pressure in earlier matchups, giving the Tigers valuable experience.<\/p>\n

Williams believes those conference games will help the team tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want them to slow us down,\u201d Williams said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want their press to affect us and I feel like playing teams in the SEC have given us some pretty good practice for this press, so I think we\u2019ll handle it well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another key factor will be rebounding. LSU holds a size advantage, but winning the battle on the glass could come down to guard play.<\/p>\n

Because Texas Tech lacks size, it rebounds by committee, with guards playing a major role. Williams emphasized the importance of competing for every loose ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, playing with Mulkey and Starkey, rebounds are everything. We rebound no matter what, no matter who is on the court. So that\u2019s always going to be a focal point for us,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… it faces seventh-seeded Texas Tech<\/span> (Photo by LSU Athletics). By … will face seventh-seeded Texas Tech<\/span> inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center … our offense going.\u00e2\u0080\u009d Texas Tech<\/span> is known for pressing for … to guard play. Because Texas Tech<\/span> lacks size, it rebounds …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130898\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}