BATON ROUGE — No. 4-seeded LSU needed 26 points from sophomore All-American Seimone Augustus to come from behind in the second half and advance to the Sweet 16 over No. 12-seeded Maryland, 76-61, on Tuesday evening in the Maravich Center.
The Lady Tigers (25-7) will face the No. 1-seeded Texas in the round of 16 in Seattle, Wash., on Saturday, March 27 at 8:00 p.m. in a game to be televised by ESPN or ESPN2. Texas was also victorious Tuesday night, defeating Michigan State, 80-61 in Austin, Texas.
Texas eliminated LSU from the NCAA Tournament in 2003 in Palo Alto, Calif.
Trailing by one at halftime, 28-27, LSU outscored the Terrapins (18-13) 49-33 in the second half. Augustus scored 16 points in the second half on 8-of-12 shooting. She was 12 of 20 for the game and added four rebounds.
After LSU pulled out to a 10-2 lead only three minutes into the game, both teams struggled from the field in the first half. An Augustus jumper gave LSU a 16-11 lead at the 10:51 mark before Maryland scored nine straight points to notch their biggest lead of the game, 20-16, with 5:55 to play in the first half.
LSU shot only 35.5 percent (11 of 31) from the field in the first 20 minutes, while the Terrapins hit 10-of-30 shots for 33.3 percent.
Five Lady Tigers scored in double figures, as LSU committed only eight turnovers.
Maryland freshman Shay Doron, who didn’t start either half, scored 13 of her 23 points in the first half. The All-Atlantic Coast Conference guard finished 5-of-11 from the field and hit 11-of-12 free throws.
Twenty-two seconds into the second half, LSU quickly took a lead on a jumper by Doneeka Hodges. Maryland tied the game once more at 31-31 with 17:25 remaining on a pair of free throws by Kalika France, but Augustus’ fast break layup only 40 seconds later gave LSU a lead it would not relinquish.
Maryland, which got 44 points from posts Delvona Oliver and Crystal Washington in a first-round upset of No. 5-seeded Miami (Fla.), was held in check in the paint, as LSU forwards Wendlyn Jones and Tillie Willis allowed the duo to combine for 19 points.
Oliver finished 7-of-18 from the field, but pulled down nine rebounds and blocked four shots. Washington attempted only four shots and scored as many points as she had personal fouls — four.
Meanwhile, Jones missed a double double by one rebound — 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocks — while Willis had 10 points and 11 rebounds with a pair of steals.
LSU point guard Temeka Johnson recorded her second straight double-double of the tournament with 12 points and 12 assists. She played 39 minutes and had a game-high three steals.