KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tamika Catchings had 19 points and added 11 rebounds to lead No. 2 Tennessee to an 89-70 victory over 11th-ranked LSU in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams on Thursday night in Knoxville, Tenn.
The loss drops LSU to 9-4 on the year, including 0-1 in the SEC. Tennessee improves to 13-1 and 1-0 in the conference.
The game was closer than score indicated as Tennessee pulled away from LSU.
The Lady Tigers trailed just 64-58 with 6:43 to play and had Marie Ferdinand at the free throw line shooting two. However, Ferdinand could not convert either attempt and the Lady Vols outscored LSU 25-12 the rest of the way.
“We thought the turning point in the game was when we were down by six and were unable to knock down the free throws,” said LSU coach Sue Gunter. “We felt like the momentum switched at that time. We seemed to lose our focus and we broke down. We weren’t able to stop their last run.”
Ferdinand led all players with 22 points, six assists and four steals in 39 minutes of action. She was of only five LSU players to score on the night, four of which finished in double-figures. April Brown and DeTrina White scored 18 points each while Roneeka Hodges poured in 11. Angelia Crockett was the other Lady Tiger to score as she had one point.
LSU had trailed by as many as 14 at 45-31 less than a minute into the second half before it began chipping away at the Tennessee lead. The Lady Tigers had an 8-0 run immediately to get within six at 45-39 with 17:24 to play.
The back-breaker offensively for LSU was the inability to consistently make open lay-ups as the Lady Tigers often found themselves open underneath, only to come away empty handed.
“I thought we executed well tonight, but we didn’t play as well against their zone in the second half as we did in the first,” said Gunter. “If you think about it, if we shoot free throws the way we are supposed to and make lay-ups, it is a different game. But this one is over, it is just one of 14 SEC games and we have 13 left to go.”
In the first half, the game was close early only to see the Lady Vols make a run midway through the half. LSU rallied late to cut the lead to nine at one point, but Tamika Catchings nailed a three pointer, her only one of the game, with 41 seconds remaining in the half gave Tennessee a 43-31 halftime lead.
LSU shot just 40 percent in the first half compared to 48 for Tennessee. A key for the Lady Vols in the first half was their 5-for-11 performance from behind the three-point line. That included three’s on three consecutive possessions, finalized by April McDivitt’s three with 11:59 to play that gave Tennessee their final lead of the game at 17-14.
Ferdinand was 8 of 18 from the field and only 6 of 12 at the free throw line.
“We basically just beat ourselves. If we make the free throws and the lay-ups, then we would have had a different result at the end,” said Ferdinand.
Catchings led four Lady Vols in double-figures. Gwen Jackson had 15 points while Kara Lawson and Ashley Robinson each came off the bench to contribute 10 points a piece. Overall 11 Tennessee players scored, which is more players than LSU has on its entire squad.
Tennessee owned the rebounding edge as they pulled in 46 boards to only 35 for the Lady Tigers.
“Now we go home and work hard to get better and get ready to play Mississippi State on Sunday,” added Gunter.
The Lady Tigers will travel to Mississippi State on Sunday for a 2 p.m. game against the Lady Bulldogs.