SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — LSU’s top-ranked Lady Tigers ended a three-game road swing in convincing fashion with a 72-52 victory over UC-Santa Barbara at the Thunderdome on Tuesday night.
LSU (11-0) used runs of 18-4 and 14-2 to pull away from UCSB (2-4) and give them their third home loss of the season. The Gauchos had not lost three home games since the 1990-91 season.
With the score 14-12, the Lady Tigers used the 18-4 run to take a 32-16 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the half and led 36-25 at the half. LSU then opened the half with a 14-2 run to take a commanding 50-27 lead. The Lady Tigers led by as many as 27 in the second half.
“Coming into this place where UCSB has been so successful for so many years and execute the way we did was nice to see,” LSU head coach Pokey Chatman. “It was also nice to see our defense get us going and it was nice to be able to play all 15 kids.”
All 15 of the Lady Tigers played at least five minutes and four players reached double figures in scoring, including Seimone Augustus with 16 and Scholanda Hoston with 15.
Hoston, the spark of the Lady Tigers defense, collected five steals and five defensive rebounds to add to her point total. For the game, LSU had 14 steals and forced 23 UCSB turnovers.
Both Temeka Johnson and Quianna Chaney added 11 points in the win.
Kristen Mann led the Gauchos with a game-high 22 points and seven boards.
LSU shot 44.3 percent from the floor and outrebounded UCSB 44-42. The Gauchos hit just 35.8 percent from the floor.
The Lady Tigers will take a break for the Christmas holiday before returning to the Maravich Center for the first time since Nov. 30 to host Texas State on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. CST.