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 Tuesday and left with a lopsided loss.

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

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

LSU won so 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 after she finished with a career-high 33 points and 13 rebounds. Mikaylah Williams added 19 points, six assists and five boards after shooting 6 of 10 from the field and 5 of 7 from 3-point range, while Fulwiley chipped in 20 points, six steals and four assists.

Only nine of LSU's 11 players were active on Tuesday. Forwards Noa Morro (shin) and Meghan Yarvevich (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.

Johnson was the Tigers' leading rebounder. She pulled nine of her 13 boards off the offensive glass.

Fulwiley, a senior, earned a spot in the starting lineup on Tuesday for just the fifth time in her career. The former South Carolina transfer entered games off the bench last season, but now she's one of LSU's starters, at least until Morro returns from injury in late November.

The Tigers' 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 North Carolina State (Nov. 28), before they hit Southeastern Conference play, as well as Villanova (Nov. 27) and Houston (Dec. 13).

The schedule won't stiffen until Thanksgiving. 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.