Tonie Morgan's last-second 3 lifts No. 11 Kentucky over No. 5 LSU in back-and-forth SEC opener

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Kentucky dug itself out of a 12-point hole in the first half Thursday at LSU. Then Kenny Brooks' Wildcats erased a six-point fourth-quarter deficit, holding the Tigers without a field goal over the final five minutes of play. 

Tonie Morgan, Kentucky's standout point guard who entered with just eight 3-pointers all season, netted her third triple of the night just before the final buzzer to lift her No. 5 Wildcats (14-1, 1-0 SEC) to an 80-78 victory over previously undefeated LSU (14-1, 0-1).

Morgan's final 3 arrived after Tigers guard Mikaylah Williams knocked down three free throws to put Kim Mulkey's squad ahead by one point with 18.5 seconds left.

Williams finished with a season-high 26 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Morgan came in ranked 11th nationally with a 3.11 assist-to-turnover ratio and improved that mark with 12 assists and 0 turnovers to go along with her team-high 24 points.

The SEC opener pitted LSU's top-ranked scoring offense versus Kentucky's No. 3 scoring defense, and boy did it deliver.

Kentucky hadn't won a game in Baton Rouge since Jan. 17, 2019.

This story is being updated.