LSU Women’s Basketball Is Confident About Auburn Re-Match 

BATON ROUGE, LA  – LSU women’s basketball is known as being one of the toughest and grittiest teams in NCAA women’s basketball – and their raw passion can be intimidating to many players and fans across the country. But the toughness you see on TV and highlight reels is a sharp change from real life – these young athletes are deeply humble, kind, and passionate about their craft. 

I had the opportunity to talk to three of LSU’s young stars ahead of tonight’s matchup against Auburn and I was truly blown away by the confidence and passion in these young women. They have absolutely no fear and are sure that this season has the potential to be just as special as last year’s underdog championship win for the Tigers. 

“I’d put my five up against any five any day,” said Mikaylah Williams, a standout freshman at LSU and one of the top freshman basketball players in the country. Williams and her teammates are confident that tonight’s rematch against Auburn will be a season-defining win for LSU. 

Ayoka Lee scores 34 points to lead No. 10 Kansas State past No. 22 West Virginia in overtime, 73-64.

Ayoka Lee is back on the court and better than ever. The Kansas State star forwarded commanded on the court to lead the Wildcats in overtime past West Virginia.

Kansas State led by four points with just 10 seconds remaining in regulation when JJ Quinerly hit a three to cut the lead to one. Lee split her free throws, and Jordan Harrison tied the game with a layup at the end of regulation. After Kansas State struggled from the free throw line late in the fourth, the game would go into overtime.

Lee scored 10 points in overtime, and after struggling at the free throw line in regulation, the Wildcats went 9 of 11 in the extra period. The game was deadlocked with 3 minutes in overtime but Kansas State took over, going on an 11-2 run to win it. 

With the victory, Kansas State improved to 23-4 overall and 12-3 in the Big 12, remaining one game behind first-place Oklahoma State. West Virginia, which received 23 points from Ja'Naiya Quinerly, dropped to 23-4 and 11-4. Ayoka Lee led the way for Kansas State with 34 points (12-17 shooting) and 12 rebounds.

“This was a committed performance on the offensive end, Lee certainly helps, but we’ve had moments we forget she’s out there because we didn’t have the commitment to do it,” Kansas State Coach Jeff Mittie said.

Kansas State's next game is against rival Kansas on Sunday, while West Virginia faces No. 24 Baylor on Saturday. 

Illinois SHOCKS No.14 Indiana in dominant fashion 

With only six players on the court Illinois shocked Indiana in a commanding win over the 14th best team in the nation. This year, Illinois has struggled to gain their footing only winning about half of their games. The team has struggled in their conference going 7-8. Their past held no bearing on their shocking show out against Indiana.

Illinois led Indiana 18-17 after one quarter before ripping the game open in the second quarter with an 18-2 run to extend their lead to 44-26. Indiana trailed by double digits for nine of ten minutes in the third quarter and got as close as eight points (71-63) in the fourth before Illinois increased the lead back to double figures. Illinois closed the game on a 15-3 run, with Makira Cook leading the way with 22 points, 15 of which came in the second half.

“All across the board — staff, us as a collective — we had a feeling because obviously we started the season off rough, but we have been working our butts off and been super focused, putting a whole bunch of things aside and keeping our main thing the main thing,” said Illinois guard Makira Cook, who scored a team-high 22 points. “Today, it just showed what we can do when we all string it together. ...It means. a lot. It means so much. We’re so happy right now."

Illinois had only six players, but all of them scored in double digits, with Genesis Bryant leading the way with 15 points, Camille Hobby adding 12 and Gretchen Dolan contributing 11. Indiana's Mackenzie Holmes  led the team with 24 points, shooting 10 of 14 from the floor. Garzon finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Sara Scalia added 10. Senior Sydney Parrish played for the first time since Jan. 17 and logged six minutes. 

Indiana's next game is on Thursday against Caitlin Clark and No. 4 Iowa. Illinois will also play No. 4 Iowa on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

2/19/24 2/21/24 — Notable Game Results

• #13 LSU beats Texas A&M: 81-58 

• Illinois beats #14 Indiana: 86-66

• #15 UConn beats #21 Creighton: 73-53

• #19 Notre Dame beats Duke: 70-62 

• #23 Oklahoma beats Cincinnati: 95-87 

• #5 Texas beats Texas Tech: 77-72 

• #10 Kansas State beats #22 West Virginia: 73-64

• #24 Baylor beats Kansas: 69-61

• Boise State beats New Mexico: 58-55

• UNLV beats Wyoming: 63-60

• TCU beats BYU: 68-58

2/19/24 - 2/21/24 — Players Of The Game

• Aneesah Morrow— LSU

  • 25 pts, 15 rebound, 2 assists

• Paige Bueckers — UConn 

  • 24 pts, 6 rebounds, 1 assists, 3 steals

• Skylar Vann — Oklahoma

  • 22 pts, 5 rebounds,6 assist, 3 blocks

• Serah Williams — Wisconsin

  • 30 pts, 15 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks

• Liza Karlen — Marquette  

  • 23 pts, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks

• Ayoka Lee— Kansas State 

  • 34 pts, 12 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks

•  Maddie Albrecht — Lehigh  

  • 28 pts, 10 rebounds, 4 assist, 4 steals,1 block 

• Lucy Olsen— Villanova

  • 30 pts, 3 rebounds, 5 assist, 2 steals  

• Shyanne Sellers — Maryland

  • 21 pts, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

• Alexis Hutchison — Wright State

  • 26 pts, 16 rebounds, 3 assist

Thusrday Games To Watch

• #2 Ohio State vs. Penn State

• #20 Louisville vs. Georgia Tech  

• Alabama vs. #1 South Carolina

• #13 LSU vs. Auburn

• #17 Syracuse vs.Duke 

• Miami vs. Virginia

• #4 Iowa  vs. #14 Indiana

• #6 NC State vs. North Carolina

• #18 Utah vs. #12 UCLA 

• Clemson vs. #19 Notre Dame

Friday Games To Watch

• Arizona vs. #3 Stanford 

• #11 Colorado vs. #7 USC  

• #9 Oregon State vs. Washington State 

• Oregon vs. Washington

• #17 Syracuse vs.Duke 

• Arizona State vs. California

Saturday Games To Watch

• #5 Texas vs. UCF  

• Villanova vs. #21 Creighton   

• #24 Baylor vs. #22 West Virginia 

• Oklahoma State vs. #23 Oklahoma

• #24 Princeton vs.Columbia 

• Rhode Island vs. Saint Joseph’s

• Ball State vs.Toledo

• UAB vs. North Texas

• Iowa State vs. BYU

• UNLV vs. Nevada

Sunday Games To Watch

• #13 LSU vs. Tennessee   

• Virginia vs. #20 Louisville   

• Illinois vs. #4 Iowa 

• Maryland vs. #2 Ohio State

• #8 Virginia Tech vs.North Carolina 

• Pittsburgh vs. #17 Syracuse

• #3 Stanford vs.Arizona State

• #9 Oregon State vs. Washington

• #6 NC State vs. Duke

• #15 UConn vs. DePaul