PISCATAWAY, N.J. — LSU’s No. 1-ranked Lady Tigers lost for the first time this season, 51-49, in overtime to Rutgers in Louis Brown Arena on Wednesday night.
LSU (13-1) had a 10-point halftime lead disappear when Rutgers (9-2) outscored the Lady Tigers 27-17 in the second half and 4-2 in overtime.
Rutgers held LSU to just two field goals over the final 15 minutes of play, including the five minutes of overtime.
Seimone Augustus, who finished the game with 25 points and 10 rebounds, missed a 16-foot jumper at the end of regulation that would have given LSU the victory.
In overtime, Rutgers, who took the lead in overtime on a Chelsea Newton jumper and a pair of Cappie Pondexter free throws, missed the front end of a one-and-one from the free thrown line with just under five seconds to play, but LSU had an outlet pass intercepted to secure the win for Rutgers.
“Rutgers competed a little bit harder than we did tonight and it showed because they came away with the victory,” LSU head coach Pokey Chatman. “We were in good shape at the half. We defended them well. We wanted to stay out of foul trouble and we wanted to get transition baskets, but it came down to who wanted it more.”
LSU shot 54.5 percent from the floor in the first half, including hitting seven of the final eight shots of the half. The Lady Tigers also had six fast break points and held Rutgers to just 28.6 percent shooting in the half.
The second half was a different story. LSU shot 33.3 percent from the floor, while the Scarlet Knights connected on 44.4 percent from the floor. The Lady Tigers finished the game at a 38.0 percent clip and Rutgers shot 35.0 percent.
LSU finished the game with a rebounding margin of seven, 39-32, led by Augustus 10 and Wendlyn Jones 10.
Pondexter led Rutgers with 16 points, while Michelle Campbell added 12 points and eight rebounds and Nikki Jett had 11 points.
LSU will begin Southeastern Conference play on Saturday at 11 a.m. CST when they host Georgia in the Maravich Center. The game will be broadcast live on CBS and is the annual Pack the PMAC promotional game for LSU.