GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Starting her second game of the 2002-03 season in place of injured senior forward DeTrina White, LSU senior forward Ke-Ke Tardy scored 16 points including 12 straight to give the No. 6-ranked LSU women’s basketball team a 94-54 victory over Florida on Thursday night in the Stephen O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.
LSU (16-1, 4-1 SEC), which is coming off a 10-point road loss to then-No. 9 Arkansas, used a 16-0 run midway through the first half to extend a two-point lead to 18 with eight minutes to play in the half. The win was the second-largest conference victory in school history, three points short of LSU’s 82-39 victory over Kentucky on Jan. 16.
“We did a really good job of playing Lady Tigers basketball, and that’s what it really starts with,” LSU head coach Sue Gunter said after her 401st victory at LSU. “After the starters left the game with about 12 minutes to play in the first half, we took advantage of them being a little tired to go on a nice run. All things considered, it was a nice comeback for us. I hope DeTrina White hears this wherever she is: ‘DeTrina, your teammates played very well tonight.'”
Along with Tardy’s 16 on 8-of-12 shooting, Aiysha Smith added 15 points and eight rebounds. Roneeka Hodges made 5-of-6 shots including a pair of three-pointers to score 12 points. Starters Temeka Johnson and Seimone Augustus each added nine points while playing 24 and 28 minutes, respectively. Reserve center Crystal White also added nine points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in only 13 minutes of play.
“Another thing that was good for us was our points in the paint,” Gunter said of her team’s 49 points inside the Lady Gator’s lane. “It was something that they really didn’t have an answer for.”
The Lady Tigers shot 58 percent for the game (40 of 69) including 5-of-11 three-pointers while adding 9-of-10 free throws.
Florida (8-9, 0-5 SEC), which is in the midst of a rebuilding season under first-year head coach Carolyn Peck, turned the ball over 16 times and made only 24-of-62 shots for 38.7 percent.
Freshman Bernice Mosby scored 12 of her team-high 14 points in the second half, while Dalila Eshe was the only other Lady Gator in double figures scoring with 11.
“When you look at our stats, I thought that two freshmen — Bernice Mosby and Dalila Eshe — played very well for us,” Peck said in her post-game radio show. “I think that having these two score 14 and 11 points for us against a great team like LSU shows us that there’s a bright future in Florida women’s basketball. I’ve got to look at the positives in this team. There’s a future in the program, and I like to look at the positives that came from these freshmen tonight.”
Despite three of LSU’s five first-half turnovers, Smith made three baskets without a miss for eight of the Lady Tigers’ first 13 points in the first six minutes of the contest. LSU led 13-9 with 14:14 to play in the first half.
Smith’s fourth basket started an 8-0 run and gave LSU a 19-11 lead. A jumper by Johnson from 15 feet on the right wing forced the Lady Gators into their first 30-second timeout of the game at the 11:03 mark.
After an official timeout, Doneeka Hodges connected on her first trey of the game. A steal by James on the ensuing possession led to a layup for Roneeka Hodges and extended the run to 11-0. Two more baskets — a layup by Jones and a three-pointer by James — capped the 16-0 run and gave LSU a 29-11 lead.
Florida’s guard Kelly Stevenson ended the six-minute scoreless streak with a three-pointer of her own at the 7:59 mark, however, three straight Lady Tigers baskets moved the lead to 37-14 with 5:55 to play in the first half. LSU’s field goal percentage eclipsed the 65 percent level (17 of 26), while the Lady Gators’ fell to 30 percent (6 of 20).
Tardy scored the final eight points of the half to give LSU a 47-22 halftime advantage. After the break, Tardy scored the first four points of the second half as the lead climbed to 29, 51-22.
Florida was able to stay within 30 of the Lady Tigers for the first 10 minutes of the half, however, an 11-2 run gave LSU a 87-47 advantage with 4:22 to play in the game.
The Lady Tigers return to action on Sunday, Jan. 26, when Vanderbilt (12-5, 2-2 SEC after a victory over Arkansas tonight) comes to Baton Rouge for a 2 p.m. contest.