Without Reese, No. 7 LSU cruises past Niagara in Cayman Classic

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands -- — Angel Reese didn't make the trip to the Cayman Islands with No. 7 LSU as she's still absent from the team.

It's still unclear when the All-American, who has missed the last three games, will be back with the Tigers.

“You will know when she comes back,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said about Reese following the Tigers' 99-65 win over Niagara on Friday at the Cayman Islands Classic. “Obviously she’s not with us.”

The Tigers were also missing Kateri Poole, who had appeared in four games this season and averaged 12.8 minutes.

Mulkey said she will share more about Poole’s absence when the team gets back home.

Aneesah Morrow had 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead LSU to the easy win.

A smoke alarm emptied the gym before the game and delayed the tip by about 40 minutes and the Purple Eagles kept it close in the opening minutes, stealing an LSU inbounds pass and scoring to cut the Tigers’ lead to 7-6.

The Tigers (6-1) used a 21-0 run midway through the first half to pull away and led by as many as 42 at one point in the third.

Hailey Van Lith finished with 20 points and seven assists while Mikaylah Williams and Flau’jae Johnson scored 19 and 14 points, respectively.

While the Tigers cruised, a pair of key players appear to have suffered injuries. Starting forward Sa’Myah Smith came out of the game in the first quarter after appearing to injure her knee while driving to the basket on a fast break. She did not return.

“We’ll get back and do an MRI and see about swelling,” Mulkey said. “It doesn’t look too good.”

Johnson was tended to by medical staff on the floor and left midway through the third quarter. She briefly returned to the game in the fourth quarter.

“You don’t plan for those types of things. You don’t plan for any obstacles or hiccups,” Mulkey said. “You make adjustments. It’s important that we don’t miss the fact that we just won a basketball game. We just almost scored 100 points again without Sa’Myah Smith and putting in a lineup that has not played that many minutes (with a small lineup) together. That makes me feel good.”

BIG PICTURE

Much of the attention over the past week has focused on Reese, who is averaging a team-leading 10.3 rebounds. The Tigers appear to miss her presence on the boards as they were outrebounded by Niagara, 39-38.

UP NEXT:

Niagara faces No. 2 UCLA on Saturday

LSU plays Virginia on Saturday.

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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