BATON ROUGE - LSU women's basketball defeated Rice 70-60 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The Tigers got off to a slow start in the first quarter, only scoring 12 points, and their eight turnovers contributed to that.

However, the offense came to life in the second quarter with 18 points, and they eventually took control of the game throughout the third and fourth quarters.

Aneesah Morrow led the Tigers in scoring with 15 points. Angel Reese, who scored her first field goal at 3:40 left in the third, ended the game with 10 points and 19 rebounds.

LSU had 13 turnovers in the first half which slowed them down, but they ultimately pulled out the victory.

History was on the side of the Tigers Friday at 3 p.m. when they faced the Rice Owls in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, as No. 3 seeds are 116-0 all-time against No. 14 seeds in the NCAA Women's Tournament.

This is the third straight year that this Kim Mulkey-led squad is a No. 3 seed entering the postseason, which includes last season when LSU became the first No. 3 seed to win a National Championship.

LSU will play Middle Tennessee on Sunday in the PMAC.