LSU women’s basketball vs Vanderbilt: Score prediction, scouting report in sneaky good tilt

BATON ROUGE — There are three undefeated teams remaining in women’s basketball. No. 1 UCLA, No. 9 Ohio State and No. 4 LSU women’s basketball.

Two undefeated teams lost this past week in Maryland and Georgia Tech. Kim Mulkey and LSU nearly joined them in falling out of the ranks of the unbeatens at Tennessee. But a last-second hero shot from junior guard Kailyn Gilbert lifted the Tigers to a thrilling 89-87 victory in Knoxville.

LSU (18-0, 3-0 SEC) is 18-0 for the second time in program history, the other time coming two seasons ago when the Tigers opened 23-0 and went on to win the NCAA championship.

The Tigers will look to stay among the small undefeated group when they host Vanderbilt (14-3, 1-2) inside Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Monday night.

KAILYN GILBERT’S GAME WINNER AT UT What Kim Mulkey said about LSU hero Kailyn Gilbert’s game winner over Tennessee Lady Vols

KAILYN GILBERT FEATURE Kailyn Gilbert out to prove doubters wrong. Kim Mulkey, LSU women’s basketball benefiting

LSU women’s basketball will contend with Vanderbilt’s one-two punch of Mikayla Blakes, Khamil Pierre

LSU’s inside-out combination of stars Flau’jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow rightfully garners plenty of headlines. But Vanderbilt has one of the top guard-forward tandems in the SEC in freshman guard Mikayla Blakes and sophomore forward Khamil Pierre.

Both can score the ball, with Pierre ranking third and Blakes fourth in the league in scoring at 22 and 20.4 points per game, respectively.

Vandy coach Shea Ralph has built a formidable duo and how efficient Blakes and Pierre are can put a lot of strain on opposing defenses. Pierre ranks fourth in the SEC in field goal percentage (56.5%). Blake shoots 45% from the field.

LSU hasn’t seen a guard-forward combo yet like it’ll see against the Commodores on Monday.

Will Kim Mulkey run more smaller lineups featuring Aneesah Morrow at center?

For nearly three full quarters at Tennessee, Mulkey ran with a four-guard lineup and had Morrow play more of a center role than she has. While Morrow is 6-foot on a good day, not offering up actual size, she has all the athleticism and want-to to create havoc and panic for bigger opposition.

Her ability to run the floor allows for LSU to have four guards in the game at once and almost completely change the teams’ complexion.

Senior guard Shayeann Day-Wilson’s return to the starting lineup against the Lady Vols was an asset, while injecting Gilbert onto the court, which allows more breathers for Mikaylah Williams and Johnson at times, and makes for a fresher team late in games.

Can Flau’jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams get hot from 3 against Vandy?

Few teams give up more made 3’s than the Dores.

While the way LSU plays, it isn’t necessary for them to put up a lot of 3-pointers, this could be a situation where Mulkey sees if her team can take advantage of a matchup.

Teams make 40% of their 3’s in league play against Vanderbilt, which is the third-worst mark in the SEC. Teams like Ole Miss and Kentucky, who are in the bottom half of the conference in 3-point make percentage had above average performances against the Commodores’ porous perimeter defense.

With Williams and Johnson, LSU is more than capable to stringing together outside shots. It’ll be interesting to see if the Tigers try to capitalize on the matchup.