No. 6 LSU pulled off an 89-87 win against No. 16 Tennessee thanks to an acrobatic last-second basket from Kailyn Gilbert. And thanks to Gilbert's heroics, the Tigers improved to 18-0 and are one of just three undefeated teams remaining in women's college basketball, along with UCLA and Ohio State.
With the score tied 87-87, Gilbert got the ball with 20 seconds left in regulation and patiently waited for her chance to drive to the basket as the clock ticked down. Gilbert switched hands midway through her attempt at the rim and scored on a shot with a high level of difficulty with just 0.7 seconds remaining.
Gilbert finished the night with 22 points, five rebounds and two steals off the bench.
"People might look at it and say that's a lucky shot. I can assure you it wasn't," LSU coach Kim Mulkey said of Gilbert's bucket.
KAILYN GILBERT GAME-WINNER IN KNOXVILLE‼️@LSUwbkb REMAINS UNDEFEATED 😤 pic.twitter.com/yYnbYvSByp
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 10, 2025
LSU blew big first-half lead, but prevailed late
Thursday's matchup was a competitive game of runs with eight lead changes and seven ties. Although LSU led by as many as 18 points in the first half, Tennessee mounted a comeback and was able to take the lead midway through the fourth.
The Tigers were up 87-84 with 50 seconds left after Flau'Jae Johnson got an offensive rebound and sent the ball to Mikaylah Williams for a successful layup. The Lady Vols turned the ball over in their next possesssion, but the Tigers then did the same. Tennessee's Talaysia Cooper got a steal that led to Jewel Spear's game-tying 3-pointer.
With 30 seconds on the clock, Johnson missed a jumper but Aneesah Morrow -- who had briefly left the game with what looked like a knee injury -- picked up the offensive rebound. Once the ball got to Gilbert, Mulkey's gameplan was underway.
"She's made several of those shots through the course of the games this year," Mulkey said. "She made one like that against Washington to win it for us. She was the one we wanted the last shot for. We used up the shot clock there and wanted to make sure she didn't go in there too early."
Thursday was the Lady Vols' second consecutive loss, as they also suffered a one-point heartbreak to Oklahoma on Sunday. They were one of the last undefeated teams in the country but are now 13-2 overall and 1-2 in the SEC. Meanwhile, the Tigers improved to 3-0 in conference play.
While Tennessee was a good test for LSU, Mulkey's team has another big challenge coming up later this month when it takes on No. 2 South Carolina on Jan. 23.