BATON ROUGE — In front of the sixth-largest crowd in school history (10,841), the 11th-ranked LSU women’s basketball team stormed to an 18-2 lead and held off Vanderbilt rally to earn a 62-51 victory on Sunday at the Maravich Center.
LSU (13-3, 2-0 SEC) was led by senior All-America center Sylvia Fowles who had 18 points and 11 rebounds in her third game back from knee surgery.
After scoring only one field goal in the first 14:32 of the game, Vanderbilt (12-5, 1-1 SEC) worked its way within five with 6:31 left in the contest, 42-37.
However, LSU scored the next five points including a pair of free throws after getting five offensive rebounds in a row. The Commodores got no closer than seven in the last 5:35.
Though the Lady Tigers started fast on both ends of the court, 18 turnovers hendered their offensive efforts for much of the game. LSU was 20-of-45 shooting (44.4 percent) and made 19-of-28 free throws (67.9 percent).
“I did not think that was a very solid performance,” LSU head coach Van Chancellor. “At one point, we were up 18-2. We were playing as good as you can play, but we did not sustain the momentum.”
“We did hang on and win, so I guess we should give our players some credit. We held them to 51 points. It looks like our defense is going to carry us. That’s where we are at this point.”
Vanderbilt, which made only 1-of-18 shots to start the game, finished 22-of-53 from the field (41.5 percent) but only made it to the free-throw line seven times, making five.
Fowles added three blocks and two steals to her double double, while Quianna Chaney added 12 points and six rebounds. Guard Erica White made 3-of-4 shots and 5-of-6 free throws to tally 11 points and five assists in 38 minutes.
LSU forward Ashley Thomas who had four offensive rebounds on the aforementioned possession, had eight points and eight rebounds with three steals and two assists.
Vanderbilt guard Jessica Mooney gave the Commodores a much needed spark off the bench, scoring 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Center Liz Sherwood also came in relief to score 13 points on 6-of-8 from the field. Starting forward Hannah Tuomi was the only other Commodores player in double figures with 10 points.
The rest of the team was 5-of-29 shooting.
LSU outrebounded Vanderbilt, 37-25. Vanderbilt also committed 18 turnovers and had 24 team fouls — 14 more than LSU.
To start the game, LSU made 7-of-11 shots while smothering Vanderbilt on the defensive end of the court and take an 18-2 lead on a Hightower three pointer with 10:03 to play in the first half.
However, after sending Fowles to the bench for a short breather at the eight-minute mark, the Lady Tigers lost their offensive rhythm.
LSU made only one field goal in the final 9:57 while Vanderbilt was able to eclipse double figures in the final seconds of the half with a running jumper by Mooney.
The Commodores avoided making history, as the LSU record for fewest points allowed in a half was nine set on two occasions — a first half against Mississippi State on Feb 6, 2005, and a second half against Alabama State on Dec. 7, 2002.
LSU led 21-10 at halftime despite 13 turnovers. Vanderbilt made only 4-of-26 first-half shots (15.4 percent) after a 1-of-18 start.
Vanderbilt chipped away at LSU’s lead in the first seven minutes of the second half, trimming the margin to six, 33-27, with 13 minutes to play.
LSU answered the run to push the lead back to 11, 42-31, before three-point plays by Sherwood and Mooney narrowed the gap to 42-37.
The Lady Tigers scored the next five points and never again led by less than seven.
LSU returns to action on Jan. 20 against Mississippi State at 2 p.m. CT in the Maravich Center.
GAME NOTES
– The 10 points allowed by LSU in the first half to Vanderbilt is second lowest amount of points allowed in a half by the Lady Tigers in the history of the program. The record of nine was set in the second half by Alabama State on Dec. 7, 2002 and equaled in the first half by Mississippi State on Feb. 6, 2005.
– Sylvia Fowles moved into fifth-place on LSU’s career scoring list with her 18 points today. The senior needed seven points coming into the game to move past Maree Jackson. Fowles now has 1864 career points.
– Sylvia Fowles scored in double figures for the 104th time in her career and the 14th time this season with her 18 points today.
– Sylvia Fowles recorded her 70th career double double in today’s game with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The double double extends her streak to 18 straight conference games with a doube double.
– Erica White scored in double figures for the second time this season and the 21st time in her career with 11 points today.
– Erica White moved into fourth-place on LSU’s career assists list with her five today. She passed both Joyce Walker and Jeanetta Burns to move up on the list. The senior now has 431 career assists.
– Quianna Chaney scored in double figures for the 13th time this season and the 52nd time in her career with 12 points today.
– Today’s paid attendance of 10,841 is the 6th largest crowd in women’s history in the Maravich Center.
LSU HEAD COACH VAN CHANCELLOR
Opening statement …
“I did not think that was a very solid performance. I just cannot get us to develop a killer instinct. At one point, we were up 18-2. We were playing as good as you can play. I would love for us to reach a point where we can put a team under.”
“We did hang on and win, so I guess we should give our players some credit. We held them to 51 points. It looks like our defense is going to carry us. That’s where we are at this point.”
On the LSU’s play …
“We had two different halves, defense wise. The first half, we held them to 10 points. The second half, we gave up 41. We had an uncharacteristic number of turnovers today. That is normally not us. We had 18 today.”
“I thought Ashley Thomas‘ offensive rebounds were outstanding. I thought Erika White’s 11 points were just unbelievable.”
On the turning point of the game …
“I think it was when Vanderbilt cut it to a five point game. At that point, Ashley Thomas started getting rebound after rebound.”
On Erika White’s offensive performance …
“I thought she penetrated well. She made a nice shot over their big player, Liz Sherwood. Erika really carried the ball to the basket well.”
On the team’s rebounding …
“I thought the rebounding was a difference maker for us as well. We had 37 rebounds to Vanderbilt’s 25. We usually don’t have as large of a difference, but we did today.”
On the time between today and the next game (Jan. 20 against Mississippi State) …
“I wish we didn’t have a week off. I’m ready to play. We don’t need the week off. I think that is hurting us a little bit. There is too much time between games.”
LSU PLAYER QUOTES
On how LSU did the first half…
“I think we got off to a good start, but personally I had a bad start. I did things that were not characteristic of me like throwing the ball away when I was triple and double-teamed. After that, I slowed down and let the game come to me. From then on out, everything was fine.”
On why they were able to hold Vanderbilt to 10 points the first half…
“I think it was our energy and what we bring to the table. Everyone was focused and we did what we had to do.”
On her rebound during the second half…
“At the half, they told us we didn’t have any offensive rebounds. That is uncharacteristic for our team so when I got the opportunity, I tried to go get it.”
On what she hopes to take away from this game…
“I just want to sharpen my focus. I feel like the four turnovers I had could have been avoided. They weren’t necessarily forced. I was just throwing the ball away and that is something I can control. That is something I can take away from the game.”
VANDERBILT HEAD COACH MELANIE BALCOMB
On the poor shooting in the first half…
“I think we broke a school record. It was frustrating, but we also knew that LSU is one of the best defensive teams in the country, and I’m playing a lot of very young players that don’t have any kind of experience playing against that kind of defense. We play a much different defense than LSU does so we don’t go against that very often. Most of the teams that we have played this year have played a sagging man trying to keep the ball out of the inside, and I thought they did a really nice job of pressuring us and denying us and taking us out of our timing, which caused us to miss our shots.”
On building on their improved play in the second half…
“That’s what we talked about after the game, building on this and gaining confidence. I played a freshman point guard for 40 minutes, and I thought she played really well. We played two other freshmen a lot. I don’t think they showed any fear. They scored inside against Sylvia (Fowles), and they know they aren’t going to go against a tougher post. We’ve got some undersized players just fighting, and I thought we showed a lot of heart and fought back, but in the end, we’re here to win. I don’t care how young we are, and we’re not going to make excuses. They had a sense of urgency at the end of the game when we got within five. They had no offensive rebounds in the entire game, and all of a sudden, they get five in one possession. They (LSU) understand that. They’ve been there before. They have older seniors that turned it on, and we didn’t turn it up and have that sense of urgency to be able to finish the game with them. We are going to learn something from every game, and I think that’s what we learned tonight, having a sense of urgency even though we are young.”
On the physical play of the game…
“I think in the SEC it’s physical every night. I didn’t think tonight was any more physical than any other night. I thought we, as a program, are getting more physical and more athletic as we recruit. We have a great strength and conditioning coach that’s been here a couple of years and made a big difference. I think people are surprised we look more athletic and a lot stronger than we used to be because we used to get pushed around pretty good in the SEC. That’s never been one of our strengths, and I thought that we did a better job of competing with them in that aspect.”
VANDERBILT GUARD JESSICA MOONEY
On driving the ball to the basket…
“At halftime, coach told us we were playing scared. I just wanted to make sure that my teammates knew that I wasn’t scared and was going to be there for them. I just try to bring it for my teammates because they expect me to do that.”
On the halftime adjustments…
“Coach (Balcomb) was just telling us to play like we know we can play. She pretty much said that she didn’t think we could play any worse on offense. I think that’s true. We probably did set a record for the lowest points in a half for Vanderbilt.”