BATON ROUGE — No. 8-ranked LSU trailed for the first time in eight games, but then put together an 18-2 first-half run to put away South Carolina, 67-37, on Thursday evening at the Maravich Center.
With the win, the Lady Tigers (17-3, 6-0 SEC) remained undefeated atop the Southeastern Conference with Tennessee (19-1, 6-0 SEC).
South Carolina fell to 0-6 in league play and 11-10 overall.
LSU guard Quianna Chaney stayed hot, leading her team along with center Sylvia Fowles with 14 points. Fowles made 5-of-6 shots from the field, while Chaney was 5-of-11 with three three-pointers. Fowles led LSU with seven rebounds.
Guard RaShonta LeBlanc added 10 points, while forward Ashley Thomas had eight and point guard Erica White had seven. White and LeBlanc each dished five assists and Chaney added four.
The Lady Tigers forced 25 turnovers, converting these into 36 points. Chaney also had three of LSU’s 13 steals.
LSU was 25-of-55 shooting (45.5 percent) while South Carolina was held to only 16-of-45 (35.6 percent).
The Gamecocks missed all 11 three-point attempts and committed 20 fouls to LSU’s eight.
Forward Demetress Adams was the only Gamecock in double figures scoring with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 37 minutes. Her teammates shot less than 30 percent from the field.
For the first time since Dec. 30 against New Orleans — a span of 283 minutes, 4 seconds — the Lady Tigers found themselves trailing an opponent.
However, two two-point deficits in the opening minutes lasted only 60 seconds, as LSU used an 18-2 run to break a 10-10 tie and take control of the game.
Fowles started the run with a layup at the 10:40 mark and ended it with two free throws 6:21 later. In between, Chaney hit consecutive three pointers to stun the Gamecocks. After two South Carolina free throws, Hightower made a layup and a three pointer of her own before LeBlanc nailed her first trey.
LSU led 28-12 with 4:19 remaining. South Carolina outscored the Lady Tigers, 8-3, and trailed 30-21 at the half.
“At halftime I challenged the team to see if they could do what I wanted them to do,” LSU head coach Van Chancellor said. “They did and I am happy.
“We did not play with a lot of enthusiasm in the first half, but a South Carolina has something to do with that.”
South Carolina stayed within 12, 36-24, less than three minutes into the second half. However, LSU showed its dominance with a 22-2 run over the next nine minutes to lead 58-26.
Coach Chancellor then cleared his bench for the duration.
LSU returns to action on Sunday when they travel to Florida for an 11 a.m. CST contest.
GAME NOTES
– South Carolina took a 6-4 lead over LSU with 16:36 left in the first half, marking the Lady Tigers first deficit since trailing 2-0 to New Orleans 20 seconds into the game on Dec. 30.
– With LSU’s seven 3-point baskets tonight, the Lady Tigers have now made at least three 3-pointers in each of the last 11 games dating back to the Illinois-Chicago game on Dec. 18.
– Quianna Chaney has scored at least 10 points in each of the last 11 games with her 14 points tonight. The double figure scoring game is her 17th of the season and the 56th of her career.
– RaShonta LeBlanc scored in double figures for the fourth game this season and the 12th game of her career with her 10 points tonight.
– Sylvia Fowles scored in double figures for the 18th game this season and the 108th game of her career with 14 points tonight.
LSU HEAD COACH VAN CHANCELLOR QUOTES
On the team’s improvement in the second half…
“What made it better was what I told them at halftime. I challenged them a little bit. I wanted to see if they could be challenged. At halftime I just wanted to see how they would respond to me challenging them and they responded well.”
On how the team has improved since its game against Rutgers (Nov. 25)…
“When we played Maryland and Rutgers we had no idea what I was trying to accomplish with them offensively. I think we have improved as humanly as we can improve. With shooting the ball we have moved up almost 4.5 percent in field goal percentage. In the last month, we have finally grasped the change I wanted to see. I wanted to bring in some things that they did in the past. I didn’t know my team well enough earlier in the year in what they could or could not do. Also, during that time (Quianna) Chaney was not near as hot as she is right now.”
On how the team playing right now is the best it has played all year…
“I thought the best they played was against Mississippi State (Jan. 20). In the second half we played as good as we could have. Lately we have been playing pretty good.”
On how the team was still successful with Sylvia Fowles being pressured so much…
“What they did was put one in front of her and one behind her. I was amazed she got 14 points. I was amazed we got her the ball. I thought they were going to take that away. We did a good job of going to the strong side and giving her the ball on the weak side. When she goes up in a crowd, she has the best hands of any big player I have ever seen – just the best. I have coached in the pros and was at Ole Miss. To go up and catch it in a crowd and score, I have never seen anyone like her.”
LSU PLAYER QUOTES
On how she is helping take the pressure off of Sylvia Fowles…
“In the past, they have always backed off the fourth player. I’m just taking my time trying to knock down some shots, so that they won’t do that. That way it will open it up for everyone else.”
On what she has worked on in practice this week…
“This week I have been working on my follow-through. Coach said that they watched film and realized that when I missed my shots, I was short on them and when I made them, I was following through. I was just trying to concentrate on that.”
On the focus of the team…
“I think we have improved a lot and have been improving at the right time. The regular season is half way through. We are just trying to get better and better by the time the tournament starts.”
On the ability of her other teammates to take the pressure off of Sylvia Fowles…
“It helps a lot because other teams can’t just focus on (Sylvia Fowles.) It makes them have to change up their game plan and as long as people are doing that, it helps take the pressure off of her.”
On everyone gaining experience through playing time…
“We never know when we are going to need them. Tonight gave them a good chance.”
SOUTH CAROLINA HEAD COACH SUSAN WAVLIUS
Opening statement…
“LSU is a great team. We knew that coming in. I thought they did an excellent job defending our perimeter. This was the best team we’ve played in perimeter defense without question. We didn’t get an open look, not an open three. They ran the shot clock out a few times. It was just really solid defense. I was pleased with our team’s effort in the first half. We knew it would be a low scoring game. We were able to watch the film and knew that it would be difficult for us to score. I thought we did a good job defensively in the first half. I don’t think we did a great job defensively in the second half, and I think the veterans and the depth that LSU has on their team was a big factor in this game and in the second half.”
On Sylvia Fowles’ play…
“I thought Sylvia (Fowles) did a fantastic job defending Ilona (Burgrova). Sylvia’s defense has really grown in her four years. Four years ago when Sylvia was a freshman on the floor we could get her on a slip screen; we could get her very easily. Last year we could score on Sylvia, and we did. This year we were not able to. I thought she did a great job guarding Ilona’s tendencies. When Ilona got in a little foul trouble I think that was frustrating for her, but Ilona has been solid all year long. Prior to this game, she was shooting 71 percent from the floor in SEC play. We have got to get the ball more to Ilona. That’s one area that we need to grow as a team, and we’ve talked about it. She’s got to have the ball in her hands and on the low block, and we need to get it to her. I thought LSU’s perimeter defense made it very difficult for us to do that today.”