Johnson and Williams pace LSU past Jacksonville 116-58 in opening round of March Madness

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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Flau'jae Johnson scored 20 points, Mikaylah Williams had 18 points and 10 assists, and No. 2 seed LSU easily surpassed it's nation-leading scoring average with a 116-58 victory over 15th seed Jacksonville on Friday night in the first round of March Madness.

“It was amazing. That’s what we need, and that’s who we are,” Johnson said. “When everybody’s clicking, we’re great.”

LSU (28-5), which entered the game averaging 94.5 points per game, scored 100 or more for the 15th time this season, matching an NCAA Division I record set by Long Beach State during the 1986-87 season. The Tigers' point total also set a school record for an NCAA Tournament game.

“The offense is not surprising. We’ve seen that all year,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. “I’ve got a lot of scorers out there.”

The Tigers shot 60%, but played some defense, too. They had a season-high 18 steals and finished with a 38-13 advantage in points off of turnovers. LSU outrebounded Jackson 45-21.

“We have athleticism, speed, and quickness with certain ones on the floor, but we also have strength,” said Mulkey, a four-time national title winner with a reputation for emphasizing defense and rebounding. “So, get after it.”

Jada Richard scored 17 points and four steals, and ZaKiyah Johnson added 16 points for the Tigers, who had seven players score at least 10 points. MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 13 points.

Carmaya Bowman scored 14 points and Tatum Brown scored 10 for Jacksonville (24-9), the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament champions, who were making just their second NCAA Tournament appearance.

“LSU is a good team, right? Really good team,” Jacksonville coach Special Jennings said. “They’ve been a national championship contender. I just thought we got away from the things that makes us really good.”

Priscilla Williams, who was the Dolphins' leading scorer this season, scored five points in the game's first eight minutes, but left with an injury and did not return. After the game, her arm was in a sling.

Jennings was “not all the way sure” what happened to her top scorer, “but I know that she’s out for a while.”

LSU began the game on a 14-0 run highlighted by Williams' 3-point play on a fast-break layup as she was fouled and her 3-point shot.

“We were itching to play basketball,” Williams said. “Everybody was excited. The energy was great.”

Flau'jae Johnson's fast-break basket and free throw made it 21-4 less than five minutes into the game.

Bella Hines' transition 3 made it 27-7 just more than six minutes in and the quarter ended with the Tigers up 34-14.

“We were uncharacteristic in the beginning,” .

Jacksonville was able to match LSU nearly basket for basket during much of the second quarter, but still couldn't get within 20 points.

The Tigers then closed the period with six straight points, capped by ZaKiyah Johnson's fast-break layup set up by Williams' steal near mid court, and LSU led 64-36 at halftime.

During the third quarter, Flau'jae Johnson's 3 ignited a 9-0 run highlighted by Williams' behind-the-back pass to set up Jada Richard's fast-break layup.

“That’s what she’s capable of,” Johnson said of Williams. “She’s a triple-double type of player. It’s nothing new to me.”

That spurt made it 84-46, and it was 94-48 after Richard's jumper as the period ended.

The only question after that was how close the Tigers might get to their season high of 126 point in a game at New Orleans in December.

LSU hosts a second-round game against the winner of Friday night's matchup between No. 7 seed Texas Tech and 10th seed Villanova.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness