Tiger duo too much for Rebels
LSU was double trouble for Ole Miss in a battle of ranked SEC teams on Monday in Oxford, Miss.
Point guard Khayla Pointer registered a tripledouble, while center Faustine Aifuwa put up a double-double to help the No. 15 Tigers down the No. 25 Rebels.
LSU, which is in the midst of playing five of seven games on the road, won for the fourth time in its last six games. Ole Miss lost for the third time in its last four.
It was the first road win for Coach Kim Mulkey and the Tigers since a Jan. 9 victory at Auburn. LSU lost at Florida and at Arkansas in late January.
Pointer, a graduate student, had 16 points despite shooting just 4-of-17 from the field, to go with 11 rebounds, 10 assists and 3 steals for LSU. Mulkey chose to concentrate on her multitude of contributions instead of the poor shooting night.
“Look at her other stats, guys,” Mulkey told The Daily Advertiser. “No, she didn’t shoot it particularly well, but she has three steals and one turnover in 40 minutes of play on top of the triple-double.”
Earlier this month, Pointer became the first player in LSU history to hit career totals of at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists. Pointer ranks second in the league in scoring average (19.0), second in assists (5.3), 10th in steals (1.9) and amazingly, 12th in rebounds (6.5) despite being only 5-7.
Aifuwa, a 6-5 senior, was also strong inside with a team-high 20 points and 14 rebounds.
“From what I have been told [Aifuwa] is in the best shape of her life,” Mulkey said. “She never has run the floor as well as she’s running it now.
“We wouldn’t be where we are without those bigs. I understand people write about our guards, as they should. But those guards are the recipients of a lot of good things that our post [players] are doing.”