Fulwiley's 21 points, 7 steals in her LSU debut lead the No. 5 Tigers past Houston Christian 108-55

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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — MiLaysia Fulwiley had 21 points and seven steals in her LSU debut to help the No. 5 Tigers rout Houston Christian 108-55 on Tuesday night in a season opener for both teams.

Fulwiley, a South Carolina junior guard transfer who was one of the most sought-after players in the portal, sparked LSU’s 10-0 run to close the first half when the Tigers had five steals in the final two minutes to build a 53-27 lead.

Returning starters Mikaylah Williams and Flau’Jae Johnson added 14 and 12 points, respectively, for LSU. ZaKiyah Johnson had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and fellow freshman Grace Knox added 10 points.

Grace Booth had a team-high 17 points for Houston Christian.

LSU head coach Kim Mulkey, now 23-3 in season openers, played more than 15 different lineup combinations. All 12 Tigers who played scored.

Fulwiley also scored the Tigers’ first six points of the second half on a pair of three-point plays in the opening minute.

The strength of LSU’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class of five freshmen and three transfers was evident in the somewhat balanced scoring between the Tigers’ starters (49) and reserves (59).

LSU finished with 23 steals, ranking in the top five all-time in the school record book.

Houston Christian: At Tarleton State on Sunday.

LSU: At home against Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday.

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