NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — SEC Tournament MVP Temeka Johnson scored 24 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished seven assists to lead the No. 2-seeded LSU women’s basketball team to a 78-62 victory over No. 1-seeded Tennessee on Sunday afternoon in ALLTEL Arena.
Johnson, a member of the All-Tournament team for the second time in as many years, was 10-of-15 form the field and 4-of-4 from the line. Tennessee had no answer for the 5-3 guard’s dribble penetration, pull-up jumpers or pressure defense that turned into four steals and several fast-break scoring opportunities for the Lady Tigers.
In the tournament, LSU (27-3) earned revenge for each of the three loses suffered in the regular season. The Lady Tigers, who have all but assured themselves of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, earned an automatic bid to the “Dance” by winning the SEC Tournament championship.
The Lady Tigers beat Arkansas (78-72), Vanderbilt (78-69) and Tennessee (78-62) in a span of three days to take their first tournament title since 1991 and their second in school history.
The Lady Tigers were just plain hot when they needed to be. They finished 30 of 60 from the field and were prolific from every area of the court, while holding Tennessee to 37.5 percent shooting (24 of 64).
Aiysha Smith hit all seven of her free throws and added a 5-of-7 shooting performance to score 18 points and add three steals. Reserve forward DeTrina White, who missed nine games this season with a broken foot, came off the bench to score eight points and spark the Lady Tigers.
SEC Freshman of the Year Seimone Augustus, who was held to two points in the first half, finished with 12 on 6-of-10 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.
LSU made 16-of-18 free throws in the game and finished the tournament 62 of 76 for 81.6 percent in the three wins.
Tennessee (28-4), which has been beaten in the past three tournaments after winning eight from 1988-2000, was led by Kara Lawson’s 16 points. Reserve guard Shanna Zolman was the only other Lady Vol in double figures scoring with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
The Lady Vols were 1-of-13 from three-point range, but added 13-of-15 free throws.
The total attendance for the championships, 43,642, was an SEC Tournament record.
The Lady Tigers took a 7-0 lead on a pair of baskets by Smith and a three-point play by Johnson, holding Tennessee scoreless until Zolman hit a jumper in the lane 4:55 into the game.
Tennessee abandoned its perimeter attack after missing its first five shots, then reduced the lead to two on three-straight buckets in the paint.
However, LSU went on a 14-2 run over the next 3:44 to increase a 9-8 lead to 23-10 and force a Tennessee timeout with 9:52 left in the half.
During the run, Roneeka Hodges scored six straight including a pair of 12-foot jumpers from the right baseline and a fast-break layup from Johnson.
Lawson answered the run with back-to-back field goals to cut the LSU lead back to single digits, 23-14, with 8:59 to play in the half.
The teams traded baskets until the 4:21 mark when Johnson scored consecutive baskets in the lane and Roneeka Hodges hit a free throw to increase the lead to 35-21.
A Doneeka Hodges 22-foot three-pointer from the top of the key started a 7-2 run to close the half and give LSU a 42-25 lead.
Tennessee, in a full-court press, made a 6-3 run in the first two minutes of the second half to close within 13, 45-32.
Over the next six minutes, LSU had an answer for everything Tennessee threw at them. When Robinson converted a three-point play to get the Lady Vols within 12, 61-49, Smith answered with a pair of free throws and DeTrina White hit a scoop layup in the lane to bring it back to 16.
It would get no less than 14 in the last seven minutes of the game.
The Lady Tigers find out their NCAA tournament fate on Sunday, March 16, at 4 p.m. on ESPN.
2003 SEC Tournament All-Tournament Team
Temeka Johnson, G, LSU — MVP
Seimone Augustus, G/F, LSU
Kara Lawson, G, Tennessee
LaToya Thomas, F, Mississippi State
Shameka Christon, F, Arkansas