GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Kayla Wells had 16 points while Alexis Morris added 13 off the bench as No. 2 Texas A&M opened the SEC Tournament with a 77-58 victory over LSU on Friday.

The Aggies (23-1), who won their first league regular-season title this past Sunday, advanced to the tournament semifinals for the fourth time in the past five years. They’ll face either No. 16 Georgia or No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday.

Facing LSU (9-13) to start tournament play had to be a scary prospect for Texas A&M. Its only loss this season came to the Tigers 65-61 in overtime in January. LSU also limited Aggies to their lowest point total of the season despite losing 54-41 in the rematch last month.

And it took until right before halftime for Texas A&M, helped by Wells and Morris, to find its offense to put away the Tigers.

Leading 24-22 with 1:54 left in the second quarter, Wells and Morris had four points apiece for a 32-26 Aggies edge at the break.

Wells and Morris were at it again in the third period. Wells had five points and Morris seven as the Aggies pushed the margin to 49-38.

LSU could not respond and failed to advance past the quarterfinals for the sixth straight season.

Khayla Pointer had 26 points to lead the Tigers.

Texas A&M, which hadn’t played since wrapping up the title with a 66-57 win over No. 7 South Carolina, struggled to find its offense early on.

LSU’s defense gave Texas A&M fits for much of the first two quarters. The Aggies had a 1-of-10 stretch shooting and looked out of rhythm.

The Aggies relied on aggressive defense and offense to do damage to LSU. They limited the Tigers to just 10-of-36 shooting (28%) the first 20 minutes and successfully got the line when their shots wouldn’t fall, making 9 of 10 free throws.

Morris, the Rutgers transfer, had an impact for Texas A&M as leading scorer Aaliyah Wilson finished with just two points. Wilson had a career-high 15 rebounds, though.

Ciera Johnson, Jordan Nixon and N’dea Jones had 12 points each for the Aggies.

THE BIG PICTURE

LSU: The Tigers struggled down the stretch, going 0-5 with two cancelations in February before defeating Mississippi State in Thursday’s second-round matchup. LSU has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2017.

Texas A&M: Getting past their nemesis this season in LSU may fill the Aggies with confidence going forward as they try to lock up their second-ever SEC Tournament. This game may also get coach Gary Blair to find more minutes for Morris, a sparkplug in this victory.

UP NEXT

With a losing record, LSU’s season is likely over.

Texas A&M will play either No. 16 Georgia or No. 17 Kentucky in the SEC Tournament semis Saturday.

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More AP women’s basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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