BATON ROUGE – No. 7 LSU will be back in the PMAC Tuesday morning at 11 a.m. CT as the Tigers host Kent State at their annual Field Trip game.
Over 60 schools from around the Baton Rouge area will be in attendance with over 8,000 kids. Fans who have season tickets or purchased single-game tickets are asked to sit in sections 113, 114, 103, 104, 216, 221, 208, and 228 in order to accommodate seating for the school kids.
Fans can watch the game on the SEC Network + with Lyn Rollins and Victor Howell. Patrick Wright and Shaeeta Williams will call the action on the LSU Sports Radio Network, 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge.
LSU went 2-1 through the first week of the season and the Tigers are coming off back-to-back games in which they scored over 100 points. With multiple returners meshing with a talented group of newcomers, LSU is looking to continue to blend its talented roster to mesh as one.
“We’re getting better,” Coach Kim Mulkey said. “I am always looking at the defensive end of the floor. I do not look at the scoreboard until it’s time to do some substitutions. I’m looking at effort, I’m looking at an understanding of what all five players are supposed to do and then as I’m watching it, I’m looking to see who listened to scouting reports. You expect it to get better – it’s just going to take time to polish it and really perfect it.”
Sa’Myah Smith is off to a hot start this season for her sophomore campaign, earning starts in the past two games. She began the season with a 16-point career-high performance against Colorado before upping that number to 21 points in both of the next two games. She had her second career double-double Sunday, adding 11 rebounds. Smith is the only player in the SEC right now to rank in the top-five in both scoring (19.3 ppg) and field goal percentage (74.2).
“She’s the one that leaps higher more than any other post we have so getting the jump ball is big,” Coach Mulkey said about adding Smith to the starting rotation.”
Angel Reese has picked up where she left off last season with three consecutive double-doubles to begin the year, 10 in a row dating back to last season. In the first three games she has surpassed 1,000 career rebounds and climbed the LSU double-double list to No. 2, going past Ayana Mitchell, now with 37 double-doubles in 39 games at LSU.
Mikaylah Williams has showcased her ability to be a dominant scorer, averaging 15.3 points through her first three collegiate games. On Sunday against MVSU, Williams had her first 20-point performance and had the hot hand from beyond the arc, going 5-6.
Kent St. is coming off its second straight WNIT appearance and went 21-11 last season for its most wins in over 15 years. Katie Shumate was named to the Preseason All-MAC First Team after a strong finish last season when she earned third-team honors. A three-time All-MAC selection for her career, Shumate led the Flashes in scoring (12.7 ppg), rebounding (7.1 rpg) and steals (35) while ranking second in blocks (22). Todd Starkey leads the Golden Flashes in his eighth season at Kent State. They opened the season with a win at Louisiana-Lafayette.