LSU Tigers guard Jada Richard ignited the second half, dominating offensively and stifling the Florida Gators' star.
The LSU Tigers started slow against the Florida Gators, but rocketed ahead in the second half for an 89-60 win on Monday night.
Slow for the Tigers, to be fair, still means a seven-point lead at halftime, but they had scored just 36 points at that time. They then put up 53 in the third and fourth quarters alone.
LSU improves to 19-2 on the year and 5-2 in conference play, but those two SEC losses are starting to get further in their rearview window.
This was the second 20-point performance from Tigers sophomore guard Jada Richard, and her second in the last three games. The former Lafayette Christian Academy star has hit a stride at the right time.
She finished with 20 points on 6-of-10 from the field (2-of-3 from three) with three rebounds, two assists and a steal in this game. She was a driving force in the second half with 14 points coming then.
Kim Mulkey has gotten LSU to this point over these past few years without being a real threat from the three-point line. As the front court becomes less dominant, she certainly won't complain about having shooters step up.
The team still didn't shoot well in this game, 5-of-14 total, but nights like this where Richard and Mikaylah Williams can even step up with two-or-three perimeter shots is a nice addition. If the volume can increase at all, even better.
Another impressive part of this game for Richard was her defense on star Gators guard Liv McGill.
McGill is averaging 23.4 points per game, which is tied for fifth-most in the country. On Monday, she had just 14 points on 6-of-17 from the field, thanks to the efforts of Richard.
It feels like Richard can be a real X-factor for the team, and games like this prove the theory, as no one else really lit the scoreboard up.
The Tigers will return to the court on Thursday, home again, as they take on the Arkansas Razorbacks at 7:00 pm CT.