CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The No. 1-seeded Lady Tigers of LSU advanced to the Final Four for the second-straight year by defeating the Duke Blue Devils, 59-49, Monday night in the McKenzie Arena.
LSU junior forward and All-American Seimone Augustus was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Chattanooga Region. Augustus led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting. Augustus was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line and added seven rebounds and two steals.
Duke finishes their season with a record of 31-5.
LSU (33-2) trailed the Blue Devils by as many as 12 in the first half, but went into the locker room tied at 30 after an 18-6 run to end the half. The Lady Tigers did not allow a Duke field goal for the last 4:11.
The Lady Tigers then took their first lead of the game off of an Augustus field goal to open the second half.
LSU continued its defensive pressure, holding Duke All-American Monique Currie to just 11 points on 4-of-18 shooting. Currie was guarded for most of the game by junior Scholanda Hoston.
The Lady Tigers’ defense held Duke to their lowest scoring game of the season.
Freshman center Sylvia Fowles played 33 minutes off the bench, her career high, and scored a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Senior point guard Temeka Johnson joined Augustus on the Regional All-Tournament Team. Johnson was 3-of-9 from the field including two 3-pointers and finished the game with nine points and six assists.
Currie and Mistie Williams were also named to the All-Tournament Team. Williams led Duke with 15 points, shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from the field. Williams also grabbed six rebounds. Currie finished the game five assists to go along with her 11 points.
The Lady Tigers’ next game will be Sunday in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis at a time to be announced Wednesday. They will take on No. 2-seeded Baylor who advanced out of the Tempe Regional by defeating the No. 1 seed, North Carolina.
GAME NOTES
- Seimone Augustus scored in double figures for the 61st straight game and collected 20 points for the 18th time this season and 45th game of her career.
- Sylvia Fowles collected her 11th double double of the season.