SPOKANE, WASH. -- Fifth-year LSU senior Aneesah Morrow did not want Friday to be the final game of her standout NCAA career. Neither did her teammates.

On a night where leading scorer Flau'Jae Johnson was limited to three points on 1-of-8 shooting and finished the game experiencing double vision on the sideline after a fall, Morrow carried the Tigers for much of the way. The third member of LSU's big three, Mikaylah Williams, then took over down the stretch as the Tigers rallied from a three-point deficit in the final two minutes to beat NC State 80-73 and advance to the Elite Eight for a third consecutive year.

"[Morrow] got in the huddle and told us that this was not going to be her last game," Williams said. "So that's just me playing and not wanting it to be my last game, not wanting it to be her last game, so I think that's just a little bit of heart and a little bit of luck that them shots finally started to fall at the end of the game."

Matching up against an inexperienced Wolfpack frontcourt that LSU had dominated in an 82-65 November non-conference win in the Bahamas, Morrow was a force in the paint. With 30 points and 19 rebounds, she became the first player with at least 30 points and 15 boards in the Sweet 16 or later since Stanford's Nneka Ogwumike in the 2010 Final Four, according to ESPN Research.

"I was actually disappointed she didn't have 20 rebounds," Tigers coach Kim Mulkey quipped afterward.

"We just didn't have an answer for her," NC State coach Wes Moore said. "We were trying to get around and front her some, we were trying to double her some. But the problem was a lot of it was off offensive rebounds and just being aggressive down there. Like I said, she had 19 rebounds, 30 points. I mean, there's your game right there."

Yet despite Morrow's huge effort, LSU trailed for much of the final period. The Wolfpack led 66-62 when Johnson left the game for good with 5:04 remaining after falling while chasing down NC State guard Zoe Brooks in the open court.

Johnson, who had experienced the worst shooting half of her college career (0-for-5) before making her first and only field goal of the game in the third quarter, was unable to return. Mulkey was uncertain what happened.

"I just know I was getting ready to put her back in the game," Mulkey said. "I turned around, and they said they won't let her go back in the game because she's seeing double, like double vision a little bit."

Mulkey said she wasn't concerned about Johnson's status for Sunday's Spokane Regional 1 final against the winner of Friday night's game between UCLA and Ole Miss. To get there, however, the Tigers needed to come back against an experienced foe that reached the Final Four last year. That's where Morrow added motivation to her impressive stat line.

"Nobody likes to lose," Morrow said, "so I talked to my teammates in the huddle, and I told them we got to take our matchups personally. We have to be able to dominate and we have to be able to make defensive stops and we did that toward the end of the game."

In particular, LSU stepped up its defense on Brooks, who led the Wolfpack with 21 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter. With NC State up one, Kailyn Gilbert blocked Brooks' shot and teammate Shayeann Day-Wilson saved the ball from going out of bounds. At the other end, Williams used a hesitation move to score at the rim and give the Tigers the lead for good -- two of her 10 points over the last 4:09 of the game.

"I'm not even going to lie," Gilbert said. "Like, she was cooking me, so ... yeah, she had me beat on that play, and I just saw that she brought the ball in front of me a little bit, so I went up and got it and then shot, chased it down, and pushed the ball up."

On the following possession, Brooks was blocked again by LSU's Sa'Myah Smith, who made two free throws to extend the lead. The Wolfpack would not score again as the Tigers finished the game on a 10-0 run.

The loss ended the NC State careers of the three starters from last year's Final Four team: guards Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers and forward Madison Hayes. Hayes and James reached the Sweet 16 three times and the Elite Eight twice, and last year's Final Four appearance was the Wolfpack's first since 1998.

"Couldn't be prouder of them," Moore said. "Love them. We're going to miss them. We're still trying to get an attorney and see if we can get fifth years for them."

On the other side, Morrow -- who posted her 64th career game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, surpassing Iowa's Megan Gustafson for the most such performances in the past 25 years according to ESPN Research -- gets to play again on Sunday, when LSU will try to reach a second Final Four in the past three years and Morrow's first since transferring from DePaul following the 2023 national title.

"I think there's five [players] in our locker room that have never been to a Sweet 16, so they certainly haven't been to an Elite Eight," Mulkey said. "That's what excites you as a coach, is having players experience something for the first time. And you don't take it for granted. You just don't."