BATON ROUGE, La. — MiLaysia Fulwiley made a dazzling debut for No. 5 LSU, scoring 21 points and recording seven steals to lead the Tigers to a commanding 108–55 victory over Houston Christian on Tuesday night in both teams’ season opener.
Fulwiley, a transfer guard from South Carolina and one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal, ignited LSU’s 10–0 run to close the first half. The Tigers tallied five steals in the final two minutes before halftime, stretching their lead to 53–27.
Returning stars Mikaylah Williams and Flau’Jae Johnson contributed 14 and 12 points, respectively, while freshman ZaKiyah Johnson posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Fellow freshman Grace Knox chipped in 10 points.
Houston Christian’s Grace Booth led her team with 17 points.
Head coach Kim Mulkey, improving to 23–3 in season openers, experimented with over 15 different lineup combinations. Every one of the 12 LSU players who saw action scored in the win.
Fulwiley continued her hot start after halftime, scoring LSU’s first six points of the third quarter with back-to-back three-point plays.
The depth and balance of LSU’s top-ranked recruiting class—five freshmen and three transfers—were on full display as the Tigers’ starters accounted for 49 points and the reserves added 59.
LSU finished the night with 23 steals, placing the performance among the top five single-game totals in program history.
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