The LSU women's basketball team started last season 24-0 and finished its season by winning the 2023 NCAA Women's Tournament.
This season could still end with the same result, but it started very, very differently for the No. 1 Tigers as LSU fell to No. 20 Colorado 92-78 on Monday at the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas in the 2023-24 season opener for both teams.
The Tigers are the first reigning champion to lose their season opener since UConn lost to Louisiana Tech in the first game of the 1995-96 season.
Behind star performances from three upperclassmen, Colorado was relentless offensively. Frida Formann nailed seven 3-pointers -- tied for most in a game in program history -- en route to 27 points with five rebounds and five assists. Aaronette Vonleh added 24 points and six rebounds, and Jaylyn Sherrod had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
The Buffaloes led by as many as 22 points, and their 92 points scored are most by any team against a Kim Mulkey-coached LSU team. Colorado, remarkably, has won its last two games against No. 1-ranked teams; it also beat Stanford in 2021.
As for LSU, this is hardly the start Mulkey and her star-studded roster were looking for.
Angel Reese, the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Women's Tournament in 2023, scored 15 points but needed 15 shots to get there; she also had 12 rebounds. The Tigers made just four 3-pointers (Colorado made 10), and heralded transfers Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow combined for 20 points on just 6-for-20 shooting.
It makes sense that a team with so many new pieces would get off to an uneven start, but it's still a stunner in women's college basketball. The Tigers are the first No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 preseason poll to lose its opener since that same UConn team in 1995.
The Tigers return home to face Queens on Thursday. Colorado faces Le Moyne on Wednesday.
