No. 7 LSU women's basketball smokes Niagara in Cayman Islands Classic

The pregame fire alarms were due to No. 7 LSU women's basketball's offense. But the smoke was certainly there.

Led by their ability to break the press early, the Tigers barely broke a sweat while the offense was on fire in a 99-65 victory over Niagara in their first Cayman Islands Classic Friday inside John Gray Gymnasium.

The start of the game was delayed 40 minutes due to a fire alarm going off in the gymnasium. Despite the delay, there was no affect on LSU (6-1), who has now won six straight games since losing the season opener.

LSU shot 57% from the field and had four players score in double figures, led by Aneesah Morrow with 28 as well as 10 rebounds, then Hailey Van Lith with 20, followed by MiKaylah Williams with 19, and Flau'jae Johnson's 14.

Kim Mulkey and the Tigers will take on Virginia on Saturday (4 p.m., FloHoops).

Angel Reese, Kateri Poole didn't make trip for LSU women's basketball; both missed Niagara game, will miss Virginia game in Cayman Islands

LSU's star player did not make the trip with LSU to the Cayman Islands and by the end of the trip, will have missed the last four games. She was benched for the second half of the Kent State game back on Nov. 14, a "coach's decision" per Tigers coach Kim Mulkey, and has not returned to action.

Will Reese rejoin the team prior to the Final Four rematch with Virginia Tech on Nov. 30 inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center? It'll be the highest-profile nonconference game for LSU and it's expected be a top 10 matchup as the Hokies are ranked No. 9 this week.

Poole has been with the team prior to the trip to the Caymans so this is the first time she hasn't been with the Tigers. But there has been a couple of games where she hasn't played at all in the last couple of contests.

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Tigers sophomore forward Sa'Myah Smith exits game early with injury

Smith was on a drive early in the game and she tried to plant to go and shoot, her legs gave way underneath of her.

She was down for a few minutes but did get up to jog off the court on her own power. Despite that, Smith did not return to the game. But LSU didn't need her to push the issue as it won big over Niagara.

But there are questions of the Tigers' depth inside right now. If Smith misses any time and Reese is not with the team right now, that leaves Mulkey with two true forwards/centers in freshman Aalyah Del Rosario, who's only seen spot time on the court, and junior Amani Bartlett who gets very limited playing time.

Tigers handle Niagara's press with ease early

To combat Niagara's presser, Mulkey went with a ball-handler heavy lineup for much of the game and it worked well for the LSU. Mulkey's group hasn't seen a team press much in the first month of this season, so Friday was the first real test.

The Tigers rolled up 60 first-half points, thanks in large part to breaking the press and getting looks while they outnumbered Niagara in the front court. Freshman MiKaylah Williams and Aneesah Morrow were benefactors as guard Hailey Van Lith and other guards broke down the defense to the tune of 22 team assists, a season-high number.

LSU scored 26 fastbreak points and put up 54 points in the paint as they run past the press.

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.