DENTON, Texas — Four players scored in double figures to lead the second-ranked LSU Lady Tigers (11-0) basketball team to a 74-43 victory at North Texas (4-6) on Thursday night at the Super Pit.
Aiysha Smith led the way with 16 points, including 14 in the first half, while Wendlyn Jones had a career-high 15 points off the bench, Seimone Augustus added 12 points and Crystal White had 10 points off the bench.
“Two people that played very well for us were Wendlyn and Crystal,” LSU head coach Sue Gunter said. “We knew they were both going to be good players, it was just a matter of time.”
The duo off the bench of Jones and White combined to shot 10-for-10 from the floor with each hitting five shots in as many attempts.
The Lady Tigers shot 50.8 percent from the floor on 32-of-63 shooting. UNT hit just 18 of 74 shots for 24.3 percent from the field. The Lady Eagles outrebounded LSU 51-39, including 28 offensive boards.
“We got the win, but when you look at the stat sheet in it hard to figure out why,” Gunter added. “They way they outrebounded us and the turnovers we had, it was a struggle, but we still came away with a 31-point victory.”
The Lady Tigers defense played well, forcing UNT into 26 turnovers and holding the Lady Eagles without a point in the final four minutes.
Augustus led LSU with seven rebounds and Angel Lewis led UNT with eight.
Emily Britt and Vilma Grismanauskaite led the scoring for the Lady Eagles with 10 points each.
LSU won their 11th straight game, giving them the eighth longest winning streak in school history. It is also the second longest streak to open a season.
LSU led 35-18 at the break and shot 53 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, but committed 12 turnovers. UNT hot just 30 percent of their shots from the field in the first half and had 17 turnovers.
LSU will next host No. 15 Penn State on Saturday at 11 a.m. for Pack the PMAC VII. The game will be telecast nationally on CBS. Fans are encouraged to get to the PMAC early to redeem their coupons for $1 tickets for admission to the game.