GREENVILLE, S.C. — LSU’s top-ranked and No. 1 seeded Lady Tigers basketball team defeated fourth-seeded Georgia, 79-65, on Saturday night in the BI-LO Center to advance to the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game for the third time in four years.
“The most important thing was the fact that the team came out with a lot of energy,” LSU head coach Pokey Chatman said. “I was really pleased with the way we executed the half court offense and in the way we rebounded the basketball, it enabled us to get out in transition.”
“We also had a point guard that ran her team tonight,” Chatman added about Temeka Johnson, who collected a school record 17 assists in the victory.
LSU (29-1) was led by five players in double figures. Johnson led the way with 10 points and the record 17 assists for her third double double of the season. Seimone Augustus added 22 points, while Florence Williams hit for a career-high 16 points, Sylvia Fowles had 12 and Wendlyn Jones added 10.
The Lady Tigers held Georgia (22-9) scoreless for the last five minutes of the game and ended the game with a 12-0 run. The Lady Bulldogs cut the lead down to 67-65 with 5:02 left to play before the run.
The game went back and forth for much of the first half before LSU took the lead for good on a lay-up by Fowles with 12:21 to go in the first half. LSU then built a 12-point lead, 35-23, before Georgia was able to cut the lead to seven, 37-30 at the break.
Georgia then chipped away at LSU’s lead and eventually tied the game at 53-53 on a Janese Hardrick three-pointer, but the Lady Bulldogs could not retake the lead.
Tasha Humphrey, the SEC’s Freshman of the Year, poured in 33 points in a losing effort, while Alexis Kendrick added 11.
LSU shot 49.2 percent from the floor, while Georgia connected on 44.8 percent of its shots. The Lady Bulldogs were shooting over 57 percent until they missed the final 13 shots of the game.
The teams each grabbed 35 rebounds. Fowles led LSU with nine and Augustus added eight, while Cori Chambers pulled down eight for Georgia.
The victory for LSU, the 16th straight, broke the school record for consecutive wins.
LSU will play either second-seeded Tennessee or third-seeded Vanderbilt on Sunday’s title game at 6 p.m. CST in the BI-LO Center.
GAME NOTES
- LSU advanced to its third SEC Tournament championship game in four years.
- LSU’s 16 straight wins breaks the school record for consecutive victories.
- Temeka Johnson, with 17 assists, broke her own record for assists in a game by an LSU player.
- Seimone Augustus reached double figures in points for the 56th straight time. She also scored at least 20 points for the 42nd time in her career.
- Five LSU players scored in double figures for the first time since the second-round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament against Maryland.