Johnson and Morrow return in form as LSU dismantles San Diego State 103-48 in the NCAA Tournament

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Flau’Jae Johnson scored 22 points, Aneesah Morrow had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and LSU overwhelmed San Diego State 103-48 on Saturday night in the opening round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Morrow increased her nation-leading double-double tally to 28 in her first game since hurting her left foot during a March 8 loss to Texas in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Johnson, who missed that tournament with a right shin injury, wore a compression sleeve over her lower leg but exhibited the explosiveness, shooting touch and all-around panache that has made her one of the most popular players in women’s college basketball.

Mikaylah Williams added 13 points for LSU (29-5), the third seed in the Spokane 1 region, which moves on to host No. 6 seed Florida State in a second-round game on Monday night.

San Diego State (25-10), winner of the Mountain West Conference, did not have a single player score as many as 10 points. Adryana Quezado led the Aztecs with eight.

LSU began the game with an 11-0 run capped by Johnson’s steal and layup, which she celebrated by blowing a kiss toward the student section behind the basket.

Sa’Myah Smith’s layup made it 31-10 just two minutes into the second quarter, and LSU led by 32 in the first half when Morrow’s jumper capped a 7-0 run.

San Diego State: The Aztecs had won eight straight to get to their first NCAA Tournament since 2012, when SDSU also lost a first-round game to LSU in Baton Rouge. This trip went no better in large part because of the Tigers’ size and defensive play. After shooting 43.6% all season, the Aztecs made just 32% (18 of 56) of their shots against LSU and were outrebounded 53-31.

LSU: After getting the rest they needed, the Tigers had their full complement of healthy players and wasted no time establishing their supremacy on both ends of the court. LSU shot 59% in the first half and made six of its first 10 shots from deep. The only real question in the second half was how big the final margin would be. The Tigers shot 50% (36 of 72) for the game and finished 10 of 18 from 3-point range.

LSU scored 25 points off of 19 SDSU turnovers. The Aztecs had two points off of 11 Tigers turnovers.

LSU aims to advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season, a streak that began during its 2023 national title run. Last season the Tigers advanced to the Elite 8 before losing to Iowa.