NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee outscored the LSU women’s basketball team 10-1 in the final 3:35 to win its third Southeastern Conference Tournament title in four seasons, 61-55, on Sunday at the Sommet Center.
LSU (27-5) lost in the tournament championship round for the fourth-straight season, three of which came at the hands of the Lady Vols by a total of nine points. LSU is now 2-6 in tournament championship games.
“My hats off to Tennessee. They have a great team,” LSU head coach Van Chancellor said. “I am really proud of our team as well. We played as hard as we could, but came up a little short.”
Tennessee (30-2), which blew a 19-point lead to lose by 16 to LSU in Knoxville earlier this season, led by as many as eight in the first half but again couldn’t distance themselves from the Lady Tigers until the final minutes. The Lady Vols have won eight-straight since the loss on Feb. 14.
Point guard Shannon Bobbitt hit two of her four three pointers in the final 6:01 — tying the game at 54-54 and starting the final run — while tournament Most Valuable Player Candace Parker scored four of Tennessee’s final seven points to create the winning margin.
Parker scored 28 points on 12-of-22 shooting with six rebounds and three blocked shots. Bobbitt finished with 12 points, all from beyond the arc.
SEC Player of the Year, LSU center Sylvia Fowles, led the Lady Tigers with 19 points and 10 rebounds. She made 9-of-17 shots after a 1-for-6 start. Her offensive counterpart Quianna Chaney was 5-of-14 shooting for 13 points. Allison Hightower came off the bench to add nine points, while point guard Erica White had eight points and seven assists.
Both teams shot 40.7 percent from the field, while Tennessee held a 40-33 rebounding advantage.
Fowles missed an open layup on the first possession of the game and started only 1-of-6 from the field. However, a three pointer by Chaney gave LSU its first lead, 9-8, in the first five minutes.
Tennessee answered with pressure in the half court and went on an 8-0 run that included a three pointer by Bobbitt.
Chaney ended the Lady Tigers drought with her second three pointer with 12:01 left in the half, cutting the deficit to 18-12.
Defense dominated both ends of the court for the remainder of the half, especially when Fowles was charged with her second personal foul on an attempt to block Parker’s layup at the 8:12 mark.
Fowles stayed in the game until the final seconds of the half, helping the Lady Tigers cut the gap to 25-22 at halftime.
Tennessee came out of the lockerroom aggressive, expanding their advantage to seven, 33-26, in the first three minutes.
However, Hightower knotted the game at 33-33 with a three pointer before White and LeBlanc scored to extend the LSU run to 11-0.
Parker’s fast-break three-point play allowed Tennessee to retake the lead, 40-39, with 11:26 to play. Over the next six minutes, the teams traded the lead 11 times before Chaney’s layup at 3:35 game the Lady Tigers a 54-51 advantage.
However, LSU couldn’t take advantage, as Fowles missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 coming out off the final media timeout with 3:12 to play.
Bobbitt made the Lady Tigers pay by hitting a three pointer on the next possession to tie the game at 54-54. LSU was outscored in the final 2:50, 10-1.
A tournament record 12,392 fans watched the contest.
The Lady Tigers await an at large berth into the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The 64-team field will be announced on Monday, March 17, at 6 p.m. CDT on ESPN.
LSU and the Pete Maravich Assembly Center will play host to the first two rounds of the tournament on March 22 and 24. Eight teams will play in the Maravich Center on Friday with four on Monday.
SEC Women’s Basketball All-Tournament Team
Sylvia Fowles, C, LSU
Quianna Chaney, G, LSU
DeWanna Bonner, G, Auburn
Shannon Bobbitt, G, Tennessee
Candace Parker, F, Tennessee *
* Tournament Most Valuable Player
GAME NOTES
– Sylvia Fowles scored in double figures for the 29th game this season and the 119th game of her career with 19 points tonight.
– Sylvia Fowles recorded her 19th double double of the season and the 82nd of her career with 19 points and 10 rebounds tonight.
– Quianna Chaney scored in double figures for the 26th game this season and the 65th game of her career with 13 points tonight.