BATON ROUGE — In the opening game of an exhibition basketball doubleheader, LSU point guard Kisha James hit a 12-foot jump shot at the buzzer to defeat the Australian Institute of Sport, 58-56, on Monday evening in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
After the AIS tied the game on a put-back by Jessica Foley with 4.7 seconds remaining in the game, James took the ball the length of the court and shot between three taller defenders to win the game at the buzzer.
The LSU women’s basketball team (2-0 in exhibition play) overcame a cold-shooting performance, 26-of-67 for 38.8 percent, to win the game on the defensive end of the court. AIS had 24 turnovers while LSU finished with 14 steals.
The Lady Tigers, who won their first exhibition by 75, struggled at times with the taller team from Australia.
James led the Lady Tigers with 16 on 7-of-13 shooting, while Doneeka Hodges had 14 points and six rebounds. Ke-Ke Tardy had nine points and five rebounds after sitting out the first exhibition, while Aiysha Smith and Scholanda Dorrell had six apiece. Smith led LSU with eight rebounds in 38 minutes.
After starting the game only 2-of-10 from the field and trailing 6-4, the Lady Tigers rallied by making four of their next five from the field to take a 12-6 lead. Ke-Ke Tardy’s free throw with 10:17 remaining in the first half capped a 9-0 run that ended on an AIS layup by Georgia Woodyard.
Triple teamed underneath, Aiysha Smith found Patty Hanten under the basket for an easy bucket before Hanten drained a three-pointer from the left wing to give LSU a 22-13 lead with 6:21 left in the half. The Lady Tigers improved their shooting percentage to 47.6, 10 of 21, and had seven steals.
The Lady Tigers cooled off over the next four minutes, making only 3-of-10 shots, but Kisha James scored an uncontested fast-break layup with 1:45 remaining to give LSU a 30-21 lead. The Lady Tigers led 32-23 at the half.
LSU opened the second half by making four of its first eight shots, however, the lead remained nine with 12:31 remaining as AIS was 4-of-10 shooting.
AIS then went on a 9-0 run of its own to tie the game at 40-40 before an official timeout with 10:21 to play in the game. The teams went 2:18 without a basket before James broke the tie with a three-pointer from the left baseline. AIS’s Jessica Foley matched the three, but James hit yet another from the left wing to put LSU up, 46-43.
The games was tied at 47-47 before Tardy drove for a layup on the left side of the lane and Doneeka Hodges drained a three from the left wing for a 52-47 lead with 4:20 remaining in the game.
After AIS responded with a basket, Smith found Scholanda Dorrell cutting to down the baseline for an easy layup and a 54-49 lead. Foley then hit a three from the right baseline to cut the lead to two, 54-52, with 2:33 remaining.
With 1:05 left, the teams traded baskets and LSU led 56-54. James forced a turnover with under a minute to play but Dorrell couldn’t convert on a jumper in the lane. AIS tied the game, 56-56, with 4.7 seconds left on a put-back layup before James took the ball 80 feet down the court for the game winner.