Mikaylah Williams might only be a junior at LSU, but she's making one thing pretty clear: this year's team is hers to take over. Though the Tigers suffered a tough 77-64 loss to the Texas Longhorns Thursday night, it wasn't because Williams wasn't trying. The 6'0" junior — a Louisiana native — put on quite the show, racking up 20 points and 2 rebounds on her own.
Williams and teammate Flau'jae Johnson, who will graduate from the school this year, combined for 31 points in the team's attempt to take down the Longhorns, and Williams also offered up a particularly impressive stretch when she went on an 11-point run on her own. Though her effort wasn't enough to get the win, Williams definitely established herself as a leader for the team.
Mikaylah Williams was the reason the Tigers were compeititive last night
Yet again, Williams was the player most responsible for keeping LSU competitive against the Longhorns Thursday night. Williams was able to meet Madison Booker's energy to the point that she could possibly teach a class on it to most of the SEC, and she also managed to hold her own against a relentless Rori Harmon.
Williams, who played the entire second and fourth quarters, was also often out on the court more or less alone. Johnson, who isn't having the most consistent season after opting to skip the 2025 WNBA Draft in favor of another year at LSU, didn't put in the kind of performance that her teammates needed.
LSU needs to prepare for a strong full-court presence
If Thursday's game proved anything, it's that the Tigers need to become a lot more comfortable dealing with full-court pressure from their opponents. While that tends to be the Longhorn's specialty, they aren't the only team who know exactly how to apply it — and if the Tigers truly want to make a play for a deep March Madness run, they'll need to rally and be ready for anything and everything other teams can throw at them.
The season isn't quite over yet, but March Madness is lurking. The loss to Texas all but makes it pretty clear that LSU will not win a top seed, which could make their tournament journey a little more difficult. The team — and especially head coach Kim Mulkey — are well aware of what it truly takes to have a great season. Now, it's just a matter of getting there.