NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — She did it again. A day after scoring 15 in the second half to lift LSU past crowd-favorite Arkansas, SEC Freshman of the Year Seimone Augustus scored all 20 of her points in the second half — including LSU’s last 14 of the game — to send the Lady Tigers to the SEC Tournament final game for the second-straight season, 78-69, in front of 8,860 in ALLTEL Arena on Saturday.
LSU (26-3) will face No. 1 seed Tennessee (28-3) for the second time in 15 days in the championship game at 3 p.m. on Sunday on ESPN2.
For the second time in as many days, LSU beat a team that had handed it one of three loses in the regular season. The Lady Tigers will have a chance to avenge their third — a 68-65 loss to Tennessee — on Sunday.
After being held scoreless in the first half, Augustus dazzled all in attendance down the stretch. She hit four-straight field goals and six-straight free throws in the final 4:14 to bring LSU back from 67-66 down.
She finished 6-of-13 from the field and 8-of-8 from the line, leading LSU with nine rebounds.
LSU center Aiysha Smith led the Lady Tigers in scoring with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while point guard Temeka Johnson add 12 points and four assists despite second-half foul trouble.
Vanderbilt’s Chantelle Anderson was 10-of-13 from the field for 24 points. Jenni Benningfield added 17 before fouling out late in the game and Abi Ramsey had 12 points.
The Commodores made all 11 of their free throws, while LSU was 21 of 27.
LSU scored 15 points off 18 Vanderbilt turnovers, and committed only six of their own.
LSU trailed by as many as nine in the first half and six in the second, but came from behind with an 11-2 run in the final 3:29 to beat Vanderbilt for the second time this season.
Vanderbilt (21-9), which had eliminated LSU from the past three tournaments, missed all 11 of its second-half three-point attempts after making 6-of-12 in the first. The Commodores were eliminated from the 12-team tournament after shooting 26-of-54 from the field (48 percent) including 6-of-23 from three-point range.
In the second half, the Lady Tigers fell behind by six, 12-6, at the first official timeout, as Anderson scored six points in the paint and Ramsey hit a three-pointer. Coming out of the break, Doneeka Hodges hit her first three-pointer from the left baseline and DeTrina White hit a wrap-around layup to get back within one, 12-11, with 13:46 left in the half.
Vanderbilt made four three pointers in less than four minutes to push the lead to nine, 26-17, at the 8:53 mark.
LSU cut the lead back to five with a pair of layups by Smith and Roneeka Hodges before the Commodores returned to their inside game for buckets from Benningfield and Anderson for a 30-21 lead with 6:18 remaining.
Again, the Lady Tigers went after the rim against the taller Commodores to go on a 9-2 run and slice the advantage to 32-30, with 3:19 to play in the half.
Doneeka Hodges hit two layups past Anderson, while Crystal White and Johnson added baskets in the run.
Up by only two, 32-30, Anderson scored her 12th point of the half, which was answered by a Ke-Ke Tardy 17 footer with 2:37 left.
LSU trailed, 39-35, at the half.
Still trailing by four, Smith gave LSU five straight including a leaning three-point play to cut the Vanderbilt advantage to one, 43-42.
Then, with 17:18 to play, Vanderbilt got a huge scare with McElhiney came down awkwardly on her right ankle and was forced to leave the game in a good bit of pain.
She left for 1:28, allowing LSU to press freshman point guard Erica Grimaldi and the Vanderbilt offense and go on a 7-2 run to lead for the first time, 49-45.
McElhiney returned to the lineup after being heavily taped and the Commodores scored consecutive baskets from short range against the LSU pressure to tie the game at 49-49 with 14:21 remaining.
Benningfield gave Vanderbilt the lead, 51-50, but the Lady Tigers responded with five straight including a 12-footer by Augustus and a layup off a steal by reserve point guard Kisha James to lead 55-51.
With Johnson on the bench with three fouls, Vanderbilt scored six straight to re-take the lead, 57-55, with 9:13 remaining. LSU went 3:48 without a basket before Johnson drove past five defenders for a layup to tie the game once again.
The lead changed hands three times before the last official time at 3:52, as Benningfield hit two free throws for a 67-66 lead.
Coming out of the timeout, LSU took the lead on an Augustus jumper in the lane before getting Anderson to commit a foul on the offensive end.
After a missed shot on her offensive end, Doneeka Hodges stole the ball at the right wing and dished to Augustus for a fast-break layup and a 70-67 lead.
The SEC Freshman of the Year hit two free throws and a running one-hander in the lane on consecutive possessions to push the lead to seven, 74-67, with 1:12 to play.
Augustus completed her run of 14 straight points to end the game with four straight free throws, as LSU advanced to its second final in as many seasons.
In the first semifinal game, No. 1-seeded Tennessee shook off an 11-point deficit and a 34-point effort by Mississippi State’s SEC Player of the Year, LaToya Thomas, to beat the Lady Bulldogs on a running jumper by Kara Lawson with 1.0 second remaining, 76-75.
The Lady Vols advanced to the championship game for the first time since winning three straight titles from 1998-2000. Lawson paced the effort with 32 points including six three-pointers.
2003 SEC Tournament
March 6-9, 2003
ALLTEL Arena
Little Rock, Ark.
First Round Results
No. 8 Auburn def. No. 9 Kentucky, 68-62
No. 5 South Carolina def. No. 12 Ole Miss, 79-64
No. 6 Vanderbilt def. No. 11 Florida, 74-58
No. 7 Arkansas def. No. 10 Alabama, 53-48
Second Round Results
No. 1 Tennessee def. No. 8 Auburn, 66-51
No. 2 LSU def. No. 7 Arkansas, 78-72
No. 4 Mississippi State def. No. 5 South Carolina, 79-75
No. 6 Vanderbilt def. No. 3 Georgia, 74-70
Semifinal Round Matchups
No. 1 Tennessee def. No. 4 Mississippi State, 76-75
No. 2 LSU def. No. 6 Vanderbilt (21-9), 78-69
Final Round
No. 1 Tennessee (28-3) vs. No. 2 LSU (26-3), 3 p.m.