NASHVILLE — Vanderbilt’s Chantelle Anderson scored 28 of her team’s 38 points in the paint and Ashley McElhiney hit 18-of-19 free throws to lead the Commodores to a 86-75 victory over the 12th-ranked Lady Tigers on Thursday night at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville.
April Brown led the Lady Tigers (17-7, 7-4 SEC) with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting to lead the Lady Tigers, while Marie Ferdinand added 17. McElhiney finished with 29 points.
Vanderbilt (17-7, 6-5 SEC), which started four players who were taller than all of the LSU starters, out-rebounded the Lady Tigers, 20-8 in the second half after the Lady Tigers stayed within one at the half.
LSU kept the game within three points over the first 10 minutes of the second half, until Anderson scored a fastbreak layup to break a 56-56 tie. Ferdinand was then charged with a technical foul after slamming the ball to the floor in frustration, and the ensuing free throws gave Vanderbilt a 60-56 lead.
The lead increased to six on another wide-open layup by Anderson, and then eight with a 18-footer by Zuzana Klimesova, 64-56. Jenni Benningfield hit a three-pointer with 7:29 remaining in the game, increasing the lead to 67-56.
LSU again battled back within four points, 67-63, after hitting four consecutive free throws and a clutch three-pointer by Brown with 6:06 remaining.
Vanderbilt responded by fighting for two offensive rebounds and a six-foot jumper to extend the lead to six, 69-63, and then to nine, 72-63, on a three-pointer by McElhiney with 3:44 to play.
Vanderbilt opened up a 14-point lead before the Lady Tigers forced a few turnovers to cut it back to seven with 37.3 second remaining.
The Commodores finished the game 20-of-22 from the free throw line, including 14-of-14 by McElhiney in the final four minutes, on their way to the victory.
In the first half, Vanderbilt used its size to open up a 15-7 lead in the first five minutes, before the Lady Tigers began to dribble penetrate and dish to open three-point baskets.
LSU cut into the lead and got within three, 18-15, at the 10:41 mark when Roneeka Hodges hit Angelia Crockett under the basket for a tough layup.
The Tigers continued to battle both inside and out over the next three minutes. April Brown hit back-to-back three-pointers as the shot clock expired, including one from 23 feet at the top of the key. Marie Ferdinand put back a three-point miss by Brown to bring the Lady Tigers within one, 26-25.
LSU took its first lead of the ballgame at the 5:40 mark of the first half when Ferdinand’s miss from 16 feet was rebounded by DeTrina White and put back for a three-point play.
The teams traded the lead over the next two minutes, as LSU went to a smaller lineup without forward Ke-Ke Tardy and April Brown. Consequently, Vanderbilt used its 6-5 and 6-6 height on the posts to take a 35-34 lead with 1:40 remaining.
After a Vanderbilt free throw, Ferdinand hit a 18-footer with 23 seconds remaining to tie the game going into the locker room.
LSU returns to action on Sunday at 2 p.m. when the Lady Tigers complete their home schedule against second-ranked Tennessee.