BATON ROUGE — LSU’s top-ranked Lady Tigers basketball team used another solid defensive effort and had a balanced offensive attack in a 81-58 victory over Kentucky Thursday night in the Maravich Center.
LSU (24-1, 11-0 SEC) held Kentucky (14-12, 3-8 SEC) to 58 points and forced 16 turnovers, while on the offensive side of the ball, the Lady Tigers shot 50.0 percent from the field and had nine players score at least four points.
“We were efficient on both ends of the floor tonight,” LSU head coach Pokey Chatman said. “I was especially happy with the way we played on the boards and the way we took care of the basketball.”
The Lady Tigers, who cut the magic number for winning the program’s first Southeastern Conference title is down to two, committed just eight turnovers in the game and outrebounded the Wildcats 37-29.
Seimone Augustus led the Lady Tigers with 18 points, while Sylvia Fowles added 12 points and eight rebounds. Wendlyn Jones chipped in with nine points, Temeka Johnson had eight points and eight assists and both Quianna Chaney and Florence Williams hit for eight points off the bench.
LSU connected on 58.3 percent from the floor in the first half and had a 47-29 lead at the break. The Lady Tigers maintained a solid lead early in the second half and then used a 10-2 run to build the margin to 29 points midway through the half.
Samantha Mahoney led Kentucky with 22 points, while both Jennifer Humphrey and Sarah Elliott added nine points.
LSU will hit the road on Sunday and visit Auburn for a 2 p.m. CST tip in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
GAME NOTES
- Seimone Augustus scored in double figures for the 51st straight game.
- LSU’s 24-1 start to the season in school history, besting the previous mark of 22-1 set in 2002-03.
- LSU’s 11 SEC wins ties LSU’s record for most conference victories with the 11 recorded in 2002-03.
- LSU is off to its best start in SEC play after 11 games.
- The Lady Tigers have now won 15 straight games in the Maravich Center.