BATON ROUGE — LSU’s No. 3/2 ranked Lady Tigers basketball team once again put together a solid defensive effort in Sunday’s 76-51 Southeastern Conference victory over Alabama in the Maravich Center.
LSU (16-1, 3-0 SEC) held Alabama (10-6, 1-2 SEC) to 29.4 percent shooting from the floor, including 25.8 percent in the second half. The Lady Tigers also forced 20 Crimson Tide turnovers that led to 26 points.
“I am extremely pleased with the effort all the way around,” LSU head coach Pokey Chatman said. “Our defensive effort is something that has been there for us from day one. We were able to take them out of their game in the half court, rebound and get into our transition game.”
LSU has not allowed an opponent to score more than 55 points since Minnesota posted 67 in a LSU 75-67 victory on Dec. 14.
Four players reached double figures in the scoring column for the Lady Tigers in the victory, including Seimone Augustus’ team-high 19 points. Sylvia Fowles added 13 points and seven rebounds, while Temeka Johnson and Quianna Chaney each added 11 points.
“I was ecstatic about the way we ran the offense in the first half,” Chatman added. “We were very efficient and we had energy.”
The Lady Tigers shot 46.8 percent from the floor for the game, including 54.5 percent in the first half. LSU also outrebounded Alabama 44-31, including 17 offensive boards that led to 24 second chance points.
Marverly Nettles led Alabama with 26 points, including 17 of their 24 points in the first half.
LSU used 16-0 run with the score 9-8 in the first half to take a 25-8 lead midway through the first half and led 43-24 at the break. The Lady Tigers then opened the second half with an 8-0 run and had as much as a 30-point lead in the final 20 minutes.
The Lady Tigers remain home and host SEC foe Arkansas on Thursday at 7 p.m. CST in the Maravich Center.
GAME NOTES
- LSU has now defeated Alabama three straight times.
- Alabama is the 15th (out of 17) opponents that have failed to score at least 55 points against the Lady Tigers this season. Only Baylor (70) and Minnesota (67) have scored over 55 points.
- LSU moved to 7-0 at home this season.
- Temeka Johnson moved up to 14th-place on LSU’s career scoring list, passing Patricia Woods.
- Seimone Augustus moved into seventh-place in career field goals made and eighth-place in career field goals attempted.
- Seimone Augustus reached double figures in scoring for the 43rd straight time and the 78th time in her career.