Central Plains FFA Chapter

01/29 21:24 CST No. 6 LSU women pull away after slow start to beat Arkansas 92-70 No. 6 LSU women pull away after slow start to beat Arkansas 92-70 BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) --- Flau'jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams each scored 17 points and No. 6 LSU beat Arkansas 92-70 on Thursday night for its sixth straight Southeastern Conference win. The Tigers (20-2, 6-2) led by just three points at halftime against the Razorbacks (11-11, 0-7), who have lost all their league games by double-digit margins. Johnson, Williams and reserve Kate Koval helped LSU pull away after halftime. Koval had 12 points and a season-high 15 rebounds for her sixth-double-double of the season. Grace Knox and Jada Richard each contributed 12 points for the Tigers, and ZaKiyah Johnson had 11. Taleyah Jones led the Razorbacks with 23 points. Jenna Lawrence added 12 points, and Bonnie Deas and Maria Anais Rodriguez had 11 each. Arkansas gave LSU all it could handle in the first half. The Razorbacks hit six of their first nine shots, including 3 of 5 3-pointers, for a 15-8 lead with 5:43 left in the first quarter. Seconds later, LSU coach Kim Mulkey yanked all of her starters. The Tigers' second unit, led by ZaKiyah Johnson and Koval --- who combined for 12 points in a 14-7 run --- evened the score at 22-22 after the first quarter. LSU inserted four of its starters just two minutes into the second quarter. Sparked by Williams' eight points on an array of mid-range jumpers, the Tigers built an eight-point lead with two minutes left. Arkansas got back within 36-33 at halftime. After misfiring on 15 of 22 layups in the first half, LSU opened the third quarter with an 18-3 run in the first 4 1/2 minutes. The Tigers made six of their first eight shots, including all three 3-pointers, for a 54-36 lead.

Up next Arkansas: Hosts Kentucky on Sunday. LSU: Hosts Alabama on Sunday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball