Former Parkway star Mikaylah Williams scored 14 points as LSU defeated Rice 70-60 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU (29-5), the No. 3 seed in the Albany 2 Regional, will face No. 11 Middle Tennessee Sunday in the PMAC.
Middle Tennessee upset No. 6 Louisville 71-69. Rice, the No. 14 seed, closed its season 19-15.
Williams, a freshman, was 5-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, in 35 minutes of playing time. She also had four rebounds and two assists.
Williams was one of four Tigers who scored in double figures. Aneesah Morrow had 15 points, Flu’Jae Johnson 14 and Angel Reese 10.
Reese also had 19 rebounds, earning her 13th straight double-double.
The Tigers had trouble putting away the Owls.
LSU led 12-6 after the first quarter, 30-27 at the half and 53-42 after three quarters.
A Williams 3-pointer gave LSU a 60-50 lead with 4:05 left. The Tigers led by as many as 11, but the Owls cut the lead to 62-56 with 1:58 left.
LSU led 66-60 with 29 seconds to play. Last-Tear Poa and Hailey Van Lith both hit two free throws for the final margin.