BATON ROUGE — The third-ranked LSU women’s basketball team used a 26-4 run in 11 minutes between the two halves to open a 26-point lead and roll past South Carolina on Thursday in the Maravich Center, 79-46.
Members of LSUsports.net’s Geaux Zone powered by USAgencies can watch archived video or listen to the on-demand audio from the contest now.
The 2005 National Player of the Year, Seimone Augustus, scored a game-high 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting to lead LSU (14-0, 3-0 SEC). For the first time in her career, the 6-1 guard did not record a rebound, but posted four steals and two assists in 31 minutes.
Sophomore center Sylvia Fowles notched another double double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, blocking two shots. Reserve guard Quianna Chaney added 12 points, while starting guard Scholanda Hoston had 11 points, four assists and three steals.
LSU shot 52.5 percent from the field (31 of 59), including better than 57 percent in the second half. The Lady Tigers had 19 steals, scoring 34 points of South Carolina turnovers.
“We shot 52.5 percent for the game, which was good, but overall it comes down to our defensive effort,” LSU head coach Pokey Chatman said. “So overall I’m extremely pleased with the effort.”
South Carolina (9-6, 0-3 SEC), which struggled with 29 turnovers, was led by reserve guard Stacy Booker who scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting including three three-pointers. Starting guard Lauren Simms was the only other Lady Gamecock in double figures scoring with 13 points with eight turnovers.
In the first half, LSU turned up the pressure on the Lady Gamecocks, taking a 9-2 lead in the first five-plus minutes before South Carolina cut it to one, 13-12, on a jumper by Lauren Simms with 11:52 left.
However, LSU answered with an 11-2 run of their own to extend the lead to double figures. South Carolina again battled back to within four, 24-20, at the 8:06 mark.
LSU, which has now won 17 straight Southeastern Conference games and 24 straight games in the Maravich Center, scored 14 of the next 16 points over the next 4:37 to take a commanding 38-22 lead. After a South Carolina basket with 3:17 to play, neither team scored for the duration and LSU led 38-24.
LSU scored 16 points off 13 South Carolina turnovers in the first half, accounting for more than the 14-point margin going into the lockerroom. Despite 52.6 percent shooting in the half, the Lady Gamecocks managed only 19 shots compared to the Lady Tigers’ 33.
The Lady Tigers scored the first 12 points in less than three minutes of the second half to extend the lead to 50-24, and South Carolina didn’t get within 23 for the duration.
A free throw by reserve guard Erica White with 4:20 to play gave LSU its largest lead, 73-38, with 4:20 to play in the game.
Members of LSUsports.net’s Geaux Zone powered by USAgencies can watch archived video from the contest within an hour of the end of the post-game.
LSU returns to action on Monday, Jan. 16, when the travel to Hartford, Conn., for the first time to face No. 7 Connecticut. The 6 p.m. CT tipoff will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
GAME NOTES
LSU has now won 24 straight games in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, the fourth longest active streak in the nation.
LSU has won 17 straight Southeastern Conference games, including 10 in a row at home.
Pokey Chatman posted her 47th victory in her 50th game tonight, the second best 50-game record in women’s basketball history.
Seimone Augustus reached double figure points for the 76th straight game and had at least 20 points for the 56th time in her career.
Sylvia Fowles recorded her eighth double double of the season and 20th of her career.
LSU HEAD COACH POKEY CHATMAN
Opening statement…
“We knew coming in that South Carolina would show us a lot of defenses. They go man, they go zone, they played a little jump defense, they went box-and-one a couple times on Seimone (Augustus). It was a key for our kids to execute. We shot 52.5 percent for the game, which was good, but overall it comes down to our defensive effort. We had 47 deflections, and that’s always something good because that means you’re able to pressure the basketball and not let them feel comfortable in their set and get the ball to their low posts. So overall I’m extremely pleased with their effort.”
On getting beat early in the transition game…
“South Carolina over the last several years has always been good at transition. They’ve added a dimension with more people on the perimeter that can hit that shot, but they can also drive. I thought it’s something that our kids mentally adjusted to and corrected. It was 14 (LSU fast break points) to 6 (for South Carolina). I thought they had more opportunities than that, we just got lucky. I tell the team all the time that we don’t want to be lucky. We want to be good.”
On converting turnovers into points…
“I’m looking at the number of steals (19), and usually we’re a team that garners a lot more deflections than steals. But there were plays where Scholanda (Hoston) stepped in the passing lane and instead of getting a deflection, she was so in position that she could just steal the basketball and transition down. I think RaShonta LeBlanc did a good job of that too. She’s going to be credited with a ton of deflections. So many people were involved with that, and not just our perimeter. I know Sylvia (Fowles) got a lot, Ashley (Thomas) was extremely active, and that’s what we need if we’re going to be successful.”
On what Quianna Chaney adds to the offense…
“Quianna Chaney can be that X factor. If she’s on the floor and in a rhythm, she can stretch the defense. Yes, she hits the long-range ball, but she can also gather herself and shoot the mid-range jumper or she can get to the basket and finish. We need her to continue on those ways.”
SOUTH CAROLINA HEAD COACH SUSAN WALVIUS
Opening statement…
“This is a great LSU team and you all know that. You may not have realized it by watching us play but our entire philosophy was to guard Seimone (Augustus) and (Sylvia) Fowles. Basically we wanted to look at double and triple team coverage. The one thing that really impresses me with LSU is their patience to go to their strengths, and you saw that with their late shots and excellent execution offensively whether they were in a man or a zone. We talked to our team at halftime about how their offense is impressive and most teams can appreciate that but their defense is more impressive. We didn’t execute our game plan at all today. I know we are a much better team then the way we played.”
On what LSU does well as a team…
“I think they spread teams out defensively. They really do a nice job guarding the perimeter and pressuring the basketball. The one thing LSU does different from other teams is they have extremely active hands on the ball. They get a lot of deflections and play the passing lanes. Teams tend to throw it away because it looks like the passing lanes are open.”