BATON ROUGE — Behind the strength of its tenacious defense and 65.5 percent field goal shooting, the No. 2-ranked LSU women’s basketball team smothered Southwest Texas State, 91-40, on Saturday afternoon in the Maravich Assembly Center.
Playing their third game in four days after an 11-day layoff for final exams, the Lady Tigers (9-0) continued to dominate on both sides of the court against lesser opponents. The Bobcats (1-7) shot just 25.9 percent from the field (15 of 58), committed 29 turnovers and didn’t score for nearly seven minutes to open the second half.
Thirteen of 14 Lady Tigers who saw action in the contest recorded more than 10 minutes on the floor, including ex-Duke standout Crystal White who made her debut at LSU after sitting out the fall semester due to NCAA transfer eligibility rules. White, a 6-5 sophomore center from Mount Clemens, Mich., scored four points on 2-of-4 shooting, grabbed three rebounds and blocked four shots in only 14 minutes of play.
All-America point guard Temeka Johnson led LSU offensively, scoring 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting in only 14 minutes. Freshman sensation Seimone Augustus added 12 points, four rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes. Ten more Lady Tigers scored in the contest, led by Ke-Ke Tardy and Patty Hanten with nine points each, and DeTrina White with eight points and a team-high five rebounds.
For the Bobcats, forward Aleise Bobcats and guard Julie Brooks led the way with 10 points each, while center Tori Talbert added eight points in 19 minutes.
The Lady Tigers were in control from the opening tip, as Augustus scored eight seconds into the first half to begin a 13-2 run in the first two-plus minutes. The LSU lead never fell below eight for the rest of the game.
A 13-3 run midway through the half gave LSU a 37-14 lead and the Lady Tigers finished the half with a 24-7 run to lead 61-25 at the break.
LSU shot 69.2 percent from the field in the half, making 27 of 39 baskets and forcing 14 turnovers.
The Lady Tigers scored the first 15 points of the second half to lead 76-25 with 13:13 to play when Southwest Texas scored its first points of the half, a layup by Johnson.
The lead grew to as much as 55, 83-28, on the first of Hanten’s three three-pointers with 7:30 to play.
After the holiday break, LSU returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 28, at 2 p.m. when 22nd-ranked Texas comes to Baton Rouge.