Angel Reese taunts Middle Tennessee opponent to tears

The LSU Tigers trailed at the half but were dominant in the third and fourth frames on Sunday to advance to the third round of the Women's March Madness tournament. They held Middle Tennessee to a combined 20 points in the second half, including just seven in the fourth quarter.

Middle Tenn. was without its center, Anastasiia Boldyreva, for the entire final frame because she fouled out. As she committed her final allotted foul against LSU star Angel Reese, Reese waved her off and egged the home crowd on, which eventually appeared to push Boldyreva to tears.

Boldyvera is a junior for Middle Tenn., hailing from Russia. She didn't have a chronic issue with fouling this season, but did hit five fouls in three of her 34 regular season games. She's a big part of the Middle Tenn. defensive strategy at 6-foot-6, she averaged 2.9 blocks per game this year. Without her, the Tigers outscored the Blue Raiders by 17 in the final frame.

LSU's win was convincing, but the close score at the half had some concerned that the lingering Washington Post article thought to be coming out about head coach Kim Mulkey had emerged as a big distraction for the team. Mulkey addressed the rumored article in a lengthy statement in front of the press on Saturday and threatened to sue the Post if it published anything false. She claims it's a "hit piece."

Who does LSU play next in women's March Madness?

Next, the LSU Tigers play the winner of Creighton (7) and UCLA (2). Waiting on them if they advance past that will be Colorado (5) or the winner of Iowa (1) and West Virgina (8). Most project LSU and Iowa to face off in the Elite Eight, which would put Caitlin Clark against Reese, Haley Van Lith, Flau'jae Johnson, and the rest of the Tigers.