BATON ROUGE — After five straight Southeastern Conference games, LSU’s 12th-ranked women’s basketball team needed a break and they got that on Tuesday as the Lady Tigers steamrolled the University of New Orleans, 87-54, here at the Maravich Assembly Center.
April Brown scored 16 points in just 19 minutes of action to lead four Lady Tigers in double-figures. Katrina Hibbert added 15 points and 10 rebounds, Marie Ferdinand had 14 points and eight assists and DeTrina White chipped in with 12 points and 12 rebounds. White has now recorded double-digits rebounds in nine straight games.
The win marked the fifth straight for the Lady Tigers, who improved to 15-3 overall. It was also LSU?s 44th straight home win against a non-conference team, a streak that dates back to the 1995 season. New Orleans, who had its three-game winning streak snapped, fell to 7-8 overall.
“Probably the best thing about the game is that it’s a win,” LSU coach Sue Gunter said. “I thought the thing that opened up the game for us was when we started playing defense. Then we got into transition and got up and down the floor.
“Overall, I’m pleased. We got a lot of people some valuable minutes, and down the road that is going to be very important to us.”
Trailing 9-8 after a basket by UNO’s Jen Ludwicki, LSU took the lead for good on a fastbreak bucket by Brown at the 15:11 mark. UNO stayed with the Lady Tigers for the next three minutes as Maria Brunker hit a 3-pointer to pull the Privateers to within 17-14 at the 12:57 mark.
From there it was all LSU as the Lady Tigers broke open the a tight game with a 22-2 run over a 12-minute span. By the time the LSU run was over the Lady Tigers went from leading 17-14 to 39-16 at the 2:56 mark on a basket by Ke-Ke Tardy. UNO’s only points during that 10-minute stretch came a driving layup by Keeshawn Carter at the 6:35 mark.
Hibbert scored 10 of her 15 points during that run, with six of the points coming from 3-point range. UNO’s Ludwicki hit a 3-pointer just before halftime to pull the Privateers to within 41-21 at halftime.
“We were our own worst enemy tonight,” UNO coach Joey Favarloro said. “LSU likes to run and they’re a very talented team, but we didn’t do anything to slow them down. We didn’t box out and that gave them the opportunity for second, third, and even fourth shots that eventually lead to scores. We also did a poor job of transition defense.”
In the second half, UNO never really threatened the Lady Tigers as the Privateers could only manage to get within 17, 43-26, after a 12-foot jumper by Jessica Dunham at the 18:53 mark. LSU then reeled off 14 straight points, eight coming from White, to put the game out of reach at 57-26 on a pair of free throws by Ferdinand at the 14:06 mark. The LSU lead hit 30 points for good after a free throw by Brown at the 7:34 mark.
In all 11 Lady Tigers played in the contest with 10 of them scoring at least two points.
For the game, LSU shot 50 percent from the field, while holding UNO to just 31.8 percent from the field. LSU, the worst rebounding team in the SEC, outrebounded an opponent for the fourth straight game as the Lady Tigers hauled in a season-best 53 rebounds compared to just 30 for UNO.
LSU returns to action on Sunday when the Lady Tigers travel to Starkville, Miss., to take on 20th-ranked Mississippi State.