BATON ROUGE — A true champion will be decided on Tuesday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center when the 10th-ranked LSU women’s basketball team takes to the court against Virginia Tech in the final game of the Basketball Travelers Classic.
LSU (2-0) defeated West Virginia and Howard in the first two days of the Classic, while Virginia Tech (2-1) got past Howard and WVU. The game is slated to begin at approximately 7:15 p.m. CST.
Howard and West Virginia will battle at 4:45 p.m. to begin the final day of the three-day Classic in the Maravich Center.
Game 4: LSU def. Howard, 88-44
BATON ROUGE — Sylvia Fowles 18 points and 14 rebounds led the 10th-ranked LSU women’s basketball team to an 88-44 victory over Howard in the fourth game of the Basketball Travelers Classic on Monday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Sylvia Fowles, who notched her 1,000 career point during the early in the game collected her 36th career double double, and did so just nine minutes into the game.
The Lady Tigers (2-0) led 9-0 after 2:30 minutes of play and Howard (0-2) was not able to get any closer.
LSU, which used a 33-0 run to win on Sunday afternoon, ended the first half on Monday with a 10-0 run and led 43-20 at the break. The Lady Tigers then used a 12-0 run in the middle of the second half to take a 40-point lead.
“Coming into tonight’s ball game we really wanted to take some of the momentum from last night’s defensive effort, because we knew Howard was going to play a very up tempo game,” LSU head coach Pokey Chatman said. “They (Howard) really made us stay in our stance. They contested our shots, boxed out for rebounds and did it from a very disciplined standpoint. The difference with tonight’s game is that we started relatively fast on offense and so we were able to get it started in the right direction.”
Defensively, LSU continued to shine. The Lady Tigers held Howard to just 25.5 percent from the floor and forced 20 turnovers.
LSU shot 45.8 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Bison 56-27.
Fowles was one of four to score in double figures and LSU had all 12 players score at least one point and collect at least two rebounds. Quianna Chaney added 12 points and four boards, while Porsha Phillips has 11 points and three rebounds and Mesha Williams collected 10 points and four boards.
LSU dished out 24 assists led by Allison Hightower‘s six and RaShonta LeBlanc‘s five.
The Lady Tigers will face Virginia Tech, also 2-0 in the Classic, to decide the champion of the Basketball Travelers Classic on Tuesday night at approximately 7:15 p.m. CST in the Maravich Center.
The Hokies defeated West Virginia in the first game on Monday. Howard will battle of the Mountaineers at 4:45 p.m. CST in the five game of the Classic on Tuesday.
LSU HEAD COACH POKEY CHATMAN QUOTES
Opening statement…
“Coming into tonight’s ball game we really wanted to take some of the momentum from last night’s defensive effort, because we knew Howard was going to play a very up temp game. They really made us stay in our stance, they contested our shots, boxed out for rebounds and they did it from a very disciplined standpoint. It was nice to see that we didn’t let them get into the bonus until late in the second half. We only committed 12 personal fouls. Coming off of last night’s game and watching how Howard was going to play their game by pushing the tempo and attacking the basket to try and get to the free throw line, it was nice to see us stay in our stance and have good team defense. The difference with tonight’s game is that we started relatively fast on offense and so we were able to get it started in the right direction.”
On how Howard was different from West Virginia…
“They (Howard) have a system of play where they make you play fast and they are going to come at you with a full court defense to try and keep you off balance. You may stop their first or second option but they have post players that can shoot threes and their perimeter players are very quick. They just have a different pace. We told our kids ?we want you to be quick, but don’t hurry.’”
LSU Player Quotes
C Sylvia Fowles
On reaching a double-double…
“That’s just part of my game. My teammates helped me get to the double-double stats. I thank my teammates for getting me the ball. I have to give my teammates all the credit.”
On Howard’s pressure…
“They might have gotten frustrated. I don’t pay attention to their facial expressions. I am just trying to get it done for my team.”
On the second half…
“We just came out there and did our execution and played together as a team.”
On if the college game has been what she thought it would be like…
“Yes sir it has been. It’s challenging compared to before. I am pleased with my start. I have to come out and be focused on trapping balls screens and rebounding and helping my teammates.”
HOWARD HEAD COACH CATHY PARSON
Opening Statement
“Having this great experience, we will go home and study what we have experienced through this weekend and make ourselves better. It has been a tremendous experience for us.”
On LSU’s Sylvia Fowles …
“She is such a tremendous athlete around the basket. I thought she did a great job. She has great hands. Everything that came to her she finished. It was very difficult to contain her because once she got the ball, there was no answer for her. We had a gameplan to double down on her, but it is difficult to do because she is so agile. She’s able to do what ever she desires to do around the basket.”
On LSU’s defensive pressure …
I thought we kept our composure with the exception of our point guard. Anytime you are at that level of the game, the pressure is usually on your point guard. Again, that just goes back to level of play with size and athleticism of their players. I thought we weren’t as poised as we needed to be for us to be successful at the point position. It wasn’t going to allow three through five to have equally even a comfortable night. I really contribute that to the defense and presence of LSU.”
Game 3: Virginia Tech def. West Virginia, 60-56
BATON ROUGE — Virginia Tech’s women’s basketball team overcame a 20-point first half deficit to defeat West Virginia, 60-56, in the third game of the Basketball Travelers Classic on Monday evening in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The Hokies (2-1) trailed 35-15 with 4:55 left in the first half and were down 40-28 at the break, but used a 17-8 run to open the second to get back into the game.
VTU took its first lead of the game with 2:27 left to play and held on for the victory, the school second of the three-day Classic hosted by LSU.
Kirby Copeland led the Hokies with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Britney Anderson added 11 points and Amber Hall had 10 points and eight boards.
West Virginia (0-2) was led by Sparkle Davis with 16 and LaQuita Owens with 15.
The Hokies face LSU in the third and final day of the Classic on Tuesday at approximately 7:15 p.m. CST. WVU fill battle Howard at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday.