ZaKiyah Johnson scored a put-back layup. Grace Knox swatted a shot out of bounds. Then MiLaysia Fulwiley picked up a steal, and Mikaylah Williams stepped into a 3-pointer in transition.

That's how the LSU women's basketball team began its sixth season under coach Kim Mulkey. No rust. No early-season jitters. Just a quick, efficient 129-35 beatdown of Southeastern Louisiana, the Southland Conference opponent that drove 50 miles to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Monday and left with a lopsided loss.

The Lions didn't convert their second field goal until the 7:20 mark of the second quarter.

By then, the No. 9 Tigers (1-0) already had piled up 47 points and sealed a no-doubt-about-it season-opening win. Their 94-point victory is the most lopsided win in program history.

“We just came out pretty tough,” Mulkey said, “when we started the game, and we were very athletic with a lot of speed and quickness.”

LSU won easily in large part because four of its five starters are returners. Mikaylah Williams, Fulwiley, Johnson and Knox are back for another year. Jada Williams, a senior point guard from Iowa State, is the group's top newcomer. She was one of the most highly rated transfers of the 2026 cycle.

Johnson paced all scorers with a career-high 33 points and 13 rebounds. Mikaylah Williams added 19 points, six assists, five boards and four steals after shooting 6 of 10 from the field and 5 of 7 from 3-point range. Fulwiley chipped in 20 points, six steals and four assists.

LSU also received 14 points, eight rebounds and four steals from Knox, while freshman center Anna Minaeva posted 14 points and 10 boards. Jada Williams assisted on eight made shots.

“I came back to this state to help grow the game in our state,” Mulkey said, “and I've played just about every in-state school for a lot of reasons, and it's usually to help them with their budget. It's usually to allow them to have the opportunity to play at the flagship university, and I'll never apologize for that.”

Only nine of LSU's 11 players were active Monday. Forwards Noa Morro (shin) and Meghan Yarnevich (concussion) missed the game with injuries.

But the Tigers still forced Southeastern to miss 26 of its 36 shots and turn the ball over 38 times. LSU scored 72 points in the paint, 29 on the fast break and 45 on second-chance opportunities while limiting itself to just 11 turnovers.

Johnson was the leading rebounder, pulling down nine of her 13 boards off the offensive glass.

Fulwiley, a senior, earned a spot in the starting lineup for just the fifth time in her career. She entered games off the bench last season, but now she's one of the LSU starters, at least until Morro returns from her injury.

Mulkey initially said that Morro won’t debut until at least late November, but she said Monday that the sharpshooting Spanish forward could “possibly” see the floor as early as next week. She underwent surgery in early September to address a stress fracture she had developed in her shin.

“I am so excited when we have her on the floor in practice,” Mulkey said, “because she just can flat-out stroke it out there.”

The win over Southeastern marked the official start of what's arguably the toughest nonconference schedule Mulkey has built since she began her tenure in Baton Rouge. LSU is set to play No. 2 UConn (Dec. 20), No. 12 North Carolina (Dec. 2) and No. 25 NC State (Nov. 28) before they hit Southeastern Conference play, as well as Villanova (Nov. 27) and Houston (Dec. 13).

The schedule won't stiffen up until Thanksgiving, though. LSU is set to play six more mid-major foes between now and then, starting at 7 p.m. Thursday with a home game against Texas Southern.

The 129 points the Tigers scored Monday were the third-most they’ve tallied in a game under Mulkey. They didn’t score more than 126 last year, when they enjoyed one of the best offensive seasons in NCAA history.