EUGENE, Ore. — LSU’s ninth-ranked Lady Tigers basketball team came back from a 12-point second half deficit to defeat Villanova 63-56 in the opening game of the Women’s Sports Foundation Tip-off Classic on Saturday evening hosted by the University of Oregon at McArthur Court.
The Lady Tigers (1-0) trailed 38-26 with 15:32 left in the game before using a 14-5 run to chip away at the Wildcat’s (0-1) lead. LSU then took the lead for good with 3:29 left to play at 53-52 on a free throw by Scholanda Hoston and then pulled away to win by their largest lead of the game.
“It thought our defense really stepped up in the second half,” said LSU coach Sue Gunter, who tipped off her 22nd season as head coach. “We were able to do some good things when it mattered, especially late in the game. I am very proud of our team, but I also have to give Villanova a lot of credit. They are very solid team and are going to have a very good year.”
Villanova jumped out to a 10-2 lead to begin the game, but LSU managed to fight back to take a 20-19 lead with 2:40 left to play in the first half, but the Wildcats ended the half on a 6-0 run and led 25-20 at the break.
Seimone Augustus led the Lady Tigers with 19 points, while Hoston had 13, seven of which came from the free throw line. Doneeka Hodges added 11 points and four assists and the senior from New Orleans became the 22nd Lady Tiger to reach 1,000 career points when she hit a jumper with 18:11 left in the second half.
Temeka Johnson, who was held scoreless in the first half, finished the game with nine points and led the team with eight rebounds and six assists.
Liad Suez led Villanova with a game-high 21 points, while Kelly Nash added 10 points.
LSU shot 47.7 percent from the floor from the game, including 52.2 in the second half and Villanova hit 46.2 percent of their shot from the floor. The Lady Tigers outrebounded the Wildcats 33-16 and had 12 offensive boards.
LSU will play the winner of the Oregon-Valparaiso (to end about 10 p.m. CST) game in the championship game of the tournament at 5 p.m. CST.