Mikaylah Williams makes LSU history, puts nation on notice

When Mikaylah Williams was asked what her highest scoring mark in high school was, she replied “34.” For most people, that’s an incredibly impressive mark, but in a room with people who just watched the star freshman just score 42 points, it garnered a chuckle.

Williams ended the game 15-of-20 shooting and 5-of-8 from deep while also pulling down seven rebounds to go with three assists and three steals. It’s perhaps the best freshman performance in LSU history and at the very least it’s a new record for points in a game by a freshman.

And it only took her four games to do.

“It’s just in me,” Williams said. “I just work hard then my teammates helped me get going. All the reps I put in are finally showing. It all starts in practice. How you practice is how you play and coach Mulkey has been on my tail about working hard and effort, so that work in practice showed in the game.”

The Bossier City product led the Tigers to a 109-79 win over a quality Kent State team on Tuesday afternoon in the PMAC and her 42 points showed the college basketball world what she’s capable of for the next four years. 

It didn’t take long for her teammates to find her and feed her the ball in the second half as she scored in a variety of ways either in isolation or off the catch. At 6-foot-1 with a strong frame and great control, the game comes natural to her.

“I wouldn’t say I wanted the ball every trip,” Williams said. “My teammates knew I had the hot hand so I give them credit for finding me and I was able to execute on the shots.”

Performing on the big stage at LSU

Williams’ smile shined bright as her head coach embraced her and her teammates hyped her up after every shot. The mild-mannered Williams was having a great time showing out in her home state.

“At the beginning we were still in a game, so I was locked in and ready to play defense, ready to execute my assignments, but towards the end of the game I started feeling good and my teammates started pumping me up so I was ready and excited,” Williams said. “It was fun. I just want to show the kids it’s possible to be a kid from Louisiana performing on a big stage like this.”

Through four games, Williams has scored double digits in three, but with this performance has 88 points on the year, giving her a 22 point per game average, five more than Angel Reese and S’Myah Smith for highest total on the team.

Entering the year, there were question marks about fit and offensive continuity at LSU, but Williams has made her own path and been flexible in every situation.

“She’s very consistent and works hard every day, so to see that pay off is amazing,” transfer forward Aneesah Morros said. “Also just coming in and being comfortable, a lot of freshmen aren’t comfortable, but when you put the work in you’ll always be ready.”

The work has never been a question with Williams, but learning how to practice under Kim Mulkey at LSU is a different task. The five-star freshman spent most of her summer in Baton Rouge preparing and now the work is paying off.

She’ll continue to hear it from her head coach about the defensive side of the ball and her playmaking, but at this point, the talent is undeniable and it has Mulkey excited for her future.

“She can score anywhere,” Mlkeuy said, “I’ve been riding her in practice because even with as good as she is, I don’t think she knows how good she is. A lot of it is going to come with playing extended minutes as hard as she can. She’s going to have bad moments, but you saw today what she’s capable of doing and you didn’t even ask her about the seven rebounds she had. She’s a special talent. I guess it was one of those days where the rim is as big as the ocean.”