BATON ROUGE ? Men’s basketball junior Tasmin Mitchell and women’s basketball junior Allison Hightower have been named LSU Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Week this week.
Mitchell, a forward, earned the honor for the second straight week after having the best game of his career while leading LSU to two SEC wins at Mississippi State and home against Ole Miss.
In a 97-94 double-overtime victory over the Bulldogs, Mitchell scored a career-high 41 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, had five assists, blocked two shots and had two steals. He shot 12-of-15 from the field and 15-of-18 from the free throw line.
Mitchell’s 41 points were the most by an LSU player since Shaquille O’Neal scored 43 points in 1991 and the most against an SEC opponent since Chris Jackson scored 46 points against Vanderbilt in 1990.
He followed that performance with a 20-point nine-rebound effort in a comeback win at home over Ole Miss, helping the Tigers run their league record to 9-1 (21-4 overall). LSU currently sits atop the SEC standings with six games left to play.
Hightower led the Lady Tigers to their first win over a ranked opponent on Sunday, scoring 21 points in a 66-47 win over ninth-ranked Florida in the 13th annual “Pack the PMAC” game in the Maravich Assembly Center. She also picked up a career-high five steals, two blocks and three assists.
It was the third time Hightower had scored 20 or more points in her career and the first win over a ranked opponent in six tries for the Lady Tigers this season. With the win, LSU improved its record to 13-9 overall, 6-4 in the SEC.
Men’s basketball travels to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks on Wednesday at 7 p.m. while the Lady Tigers travel to Athens, Ga., to play the Lady Bulldogs from the University of Georgia on Thursday at 6 p.m. CST.