BATON ROUGE — Sylvia Fowles hit two free throws with six seconds to play, sealing a 52-48 victory by the LSU women’s basketball over a Kentucky squad which gave the No. 6 Lady Tigers all they could handle on Thursday at the Maravich Center.
The battle between two of the country’s biggest centers — Fowles and Kentucky’s 6-6 Sarah Elliott — ended with Fowles at the free throw line for two of her 12 attempts. Despite her struggles from the line, she buried the two shots along with Kentucky’s hopes of snapping LSU’s now 14-game winning streak.
LSU (23-3, 12-0 SEC), one win league away from clinching the Southeastern Conference regular-season title, didn’t trail after tying the game at 4-4 early in the first half. But, poor free-throw shooting (12 of 24) and 28.6-percent second-half shooting from the field allowed the Wildcats to stay close.
Kentucky (13-13, 7-5 SEC) tied the game at 48-48 on a layup by Elliott with 1:51 to play. However, Elliott couldn’t convert on the three-point play and the Wildcats weren’t able to score again on the vaunted LSU defense.
“The best thing about tonight’s game is that we won,” LSU head coach Van Chancellor. “Somehow we found a way to win and I have to give Kentucky a lot of credit. They were very physical tonight.”
Kentucky missed their final four shots, including a 15-foot jumper by guard Chelsea Chowning that would have tied the game with nine seconds to play.
Fowles, also a 6-6 center, led LSU with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She made only half of her 12 free-throw attempts along with 4-of-7 shots from the field. She also dished three assists, had two steals and a blocked shot against Elliott late in the game.
Elliott had 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting with seven rebounds.
Both players finished with four personal fouls in the very physical contest.
LSU point guard Erica White was the only other Lady Tigers player in double figures scoring with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Quianna Chaney had her second-consecutive sub-par shooting performance, making 3-of-13 shots for nine points. She had a game-high five assists.
Along with Elliott, guard Samantha Mahoney (12) and forward Eleia Roddy (10) finished in double figures for Kentucky. Mahoney struggled from the field, making only 3-of-14 shots, but made all six free throw attempts.
The Wildcats were 13-of-18 from the line while out-rebounding LSU, 46-34.
Neither team shot well from the field, as LSU was 20-of-56 (35.7 percent) and Kentucky was 17-of-52 (32.7 percent).
The Lady Tigers scored only 11 points on 20 Kentucky turnovers. Kentucky forced only nine turnovers.
In a low-scoring first 20 minutes, LSU closed the half on an 8-1 run that pushed its advantage to 24-15.
Kentucky outscored LSU 8-3 in the first six minutes of the second half, cutting the deficit to four, 27-23.
However, LSU extended the lead to 10, 35-25, and led by as many as 11 inside eight minutes to play.
The Wildcats rolled off 10 unanswered points, including a three pointer by Chowning, in just more than three minutes to narrow the deficit to one, 42-41, at the 4:53 mark.
The see-saw battle continued until Kentucky tied the game at 48-48. A layup by White proved to be the game-winner with 1:30 to play, but the Lady Tigers needed Fowles’ free throws in the final seconds to lock the home win.
LSU returns to action on Monday, Feb. 25, when top-ranked Connecticut visits the Maravich Center for a 6 p.m. nationally-televised contest on ESPN2.
GAME NOTES
– Sylvia Fowles scored in double figures for the 23rd game this season and the 113th game of her career with her 14 points tonight.
– Fowles collected her 15th double double of the season and the 77th of her career with her 14 points and 10 rebounds tonight.
– Erica White scored in double figures for the sixth game this season and the 25th game of her career with 13 points tonight.
– LSU extended its win streak to 14 straight games, the longest since winning 14 straight to open the 2005-06 season.
LSU HEAD COACH VAN CHANCELLOR QUOTES
Opening Statement
“The best thing about tonight’s game is that we won. I don’t want anyone to think I’m too discouraged. I’ve had the flu since Sunday night. I just don’t feel good right now. I’m just glad we found a way to win. I don’t know how, but we did. We got killed on the boards. We didn’t make a three-pointer. We shot 50 percent from the free-throw line. We shot 36 percent in field goals, and we still won. Thank goodness Sylvia (Fowles) got a rebound, Erica (White) made a play and Sylvia made two free throws. We didn’t make a lot of free throws, but we made the ones we had to make to win. I thought we would have one of those games. I didn’t think it would be quite like this, but I thought we were due.”
On what this game means going into the game against Connecticut …
“I don’t think it plays one way or the other. We were playing a great team. I didn’t think we had a letdown because of that. I thought it was the way the game was played tonight. Kentucky is really physical, and that threw us off tonight. The game Monday (against UCONN) stands on its own. They have a great team, and they’re playing well. It will be a different kind of game, but we’ll play different Monday too. We have the kind of team that will rise to the occasion.”
On Kentucky C Sarah Elliott …
“Sarah Elliott has been a physical player and a problem for Sylvia all four of her years. She had a great game up there (in Kentucky) because of her size. She’s 6-6 and has the muscle to be able to stop Sylvia. She did a nice job, and they did a nice job of doubling and not letting Sylvia catch the ball.”
On Erica White …
“I don’t think there is any doubt that the most underrated player in our league today is Erica White. Everybody thinks she is great at pushing the ball, great in assist-to-turnover ratio and an outstanding defensive player, but at the same time she scored tonight. If she doesn’t score, we don’t win.”
On free-throw shooting …
“We have been shooting good free throws, but all of a sudden we just got off track tonight. I told (assistant coach) Travis (Mays) before the game that I thought this would be a game we would have to win on defense. I just sensed it. We gave up 48, and I thought that is what we would give up. I thought we would score 62. I didn’t know we would miss every free throw in the world. That is what I thought before the game started.”
LSU PLAYER QUOTES
On how important it is going undefeated in the SEC…
“It is extremely important and it means a lot to this program, not just to us, but the people who paved the way, our alumni. They are always here to talk to us and call us. They remind us that there wasn’t always a packed house here at the PMAC. There was a curtain up at one time. We always talk about carrying on Coach (Sue) Gunter’s legacy. To dominate the SEC the way we have been doing, it means a lot to us.”
On if she considers herself crafty around the basket…
“I’m 5’3 and I’m sure I was the shortest player on the court tonight, but I ended up with five layups and only one was in open court. I think I’m pretty crafty around the basket. I have to be when I’m this small. I’ve always had to be that way.”
On the difference the last few minutes of the game…
“We didn’t stick together very well, but we came together the last few minutes of the game. We made some plays and that made the difference.”
On how physical tonight’s game was…
“It was very physical tonight, but you can’t let that account for how close the game was. It isn’t like we haven’t seen that before, but we just didn’t respond well to it tonight.”
On if LSU was planning ahead for the game against the University of Connecticut…
“We are much smarter than that. We know we have to take it one game at a time, but we just got off to a bad start.”
On why she thinks LSU pulled the win in the end…
“I think it was our togetherness. We finally came together as a team, put things together and came out with a win.”
KENTUCKY HEAD COACH MATTHEW MITCHELL
Opening statement…
“We’re really disappointed to lose that game. We worked extremely hard to get prepared to come in here and play a very good LSU team, and I thought that our energy level was at the right level coming into the game. I thought our effort was good. I’m really disappointed in our execution at some critical times both on the offensive and defensive end, but LSU is an awfully good team. It’s tough to play down here, and we will just have to see if we can learn something from this game and try to get better as we go down the stretch. We have some really important basketball left to be played, so this was a tough loss for us tonight.”
On the quality teams in the SEC…
“It’s a good league. I’m biased, but I think it is the best, year in and year out in the country. I think LSU is one of the best teams in the country, but I have had a real belief in our team all year long that we have a good team, and we’ve been through a lot of adversity. We expected to come in here and win tonight. That’s what I’m sure all the teams in the league are trying to do. For me personally, it’s a real honor to coach in the Southeastern Conference against great coaches and great players. LSU’s players are outstanding, and they do a great job. I thought our players battled hard tonight, but it’s a good league.”
KENTUCKY CENTER SARAH ELLIOTT
On her battle with Sylvia Fowles in the post…
“We always know when we come down here and play against each other that it’s going to be a battle in the post. She’s a big post. I give her a lot of respect. She’s an awesome player. She gets a lot of looks. A lot of things happen around her when she gets the ball, so we knew it was going to be a battle. I thought our post did an excellent job tonight. She didn’t score as much, and we contained her a lot, boxed her out and did a lot of little things good with her consistently. I was very proud. She’s an All-American. You can do what you can do, and you have to give her props for her playing her game.”