Game 1: #2 LSU def. #7 Marist, 68-49
BATON ROUGE — The second-seeded LSU women’s basketball team snapped seventh-seeded Marist’s 22-game win streak Monday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 68-49 win in what was the eight Lady Tiger seniors’ final game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The Lady Tigers (29-5) earned their sixth-straight trip to the Sweet 16 where they will face No. 3 seed Oklahoma State in the New Orleans Arena on Saturday, March 29. Oklahoma State defeated 11th-seeded Florida State in overtime to advance to New Orleans.
Monday night’s win improves LSU record to 34-17 in the NCAA Tournament, including a 12-4 record in the second round.
The Red Foxes end their season with a 32-3 record.
Sylvia Fowles posted her 84th career double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. With her 13 boards, Fowles took the top spot for career rebounds (1,527) in Southeastern Conference history. The previous record (1,525) was set by Kentucky’s Valerie Still in 1983.
Monday night’s contest marked the 141st game for Fowles as a Lady Tiger, setting a new school record for career games played.
Erica White had a strong all-around performance with 15 points, four steals and four assists. Quianna Chaney also scored in double digits by chipping in 10 points on 4-8 shooting.
Red Fox Julianne Viani led all scorers with 21 points by hitting eight of her 14 shots, including five treys.
After being outrebound 17-14 in the first half, The Lady Tigers owned the boards in the second half and finished the game with a 32-27 rebound advantage, including 16 on the offensive side.
LSU went up by 10 with six minutes to go in the first half when Fowles hit a free throw to complete a three-point play. The Red Foxes quickly stole the momentum by going on a 12-4 run to trim LSU’s lead, 29-27, and close out the first half.
After being limited to six minutes and zero points in the first half due to foul trouble, White led a Lady Tiger second half rally by scoring 13 points in the first 12 minutes. With LSU up 50-41 with nine minutes left, White hit a three from the left wing that electrified the crowd and put the Lady Tigers in cruise control as they would lead by double digits the rest of game.
With 1:27 left in the game, LSU’s senior starters were subbed out and received a standing ovation in their PMAC finale. LSU’s senior class of Chaney, Fowles, RaShonta LeBlanc, Khalilah Mitchell, Ashley Thomas, White, Marian Whitfield and Mesha Williams compiled an outstanding 54-3 record at the Maravich Center.
The Lady Tigers raced around the Maravich Center high-fiving the LSU faithful to thank them for their loyal support over the past four years.
LSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
NCAA TOURNAMENT SECOND-ROUND POSTGAME NOTES
LSU vs. Marist
March 24, 2008 ? Baton Rouge, La.
Team
– LSU’s senior class of Sylvia Fowles, Erica White, Quianna Chaney, RaShonta LeBlanc, Ashley Thomas, Mesha Williams, Khalilah Mitchell and Marian Whitfield played in the Maravich Center for the final time of their collegiate careers.
– LSU advances to the 12th “Sweet 16” in the program’s history and the sixth straight.
– The Lady Tigers are now 12-4 in the second round of the NCAA Tourament, including 7-1 in the Maravich Center in the second-round.
– LSU improved to 12-1 in NCAA Tournament games played in the Maravich Center.
– LSU improved to 4-2 as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
– LSU is now 34-17 in NCAA Tournament history.
Individual
– Sylvia Fowles became LSU’s all-time leader in games played tonight, playing in her 141st game. She passed Seimone Augustus’ record of 140.
– Sylvia Fowles moved into third-place for career post-season games in LSU history. Tonight’s game was Fowles 17th.
– RaShonta LeBlanc moved into a fourth-place for career post-season games in LSU history, playing in her 16th game tonight.
– Erica White and Quianna Chaney both moved into a sixth-place tie for career post-season games in LSU history. They played in their 15th game tonight.
– Sylvia Fowles scored in double figures for the 31st game of the season and the 121st game of her career with 19 points in tonight’s game. Fowles has now scored in double figures in 12 of her 17 NCAA Tournament games.
– Sylvia Fowles recorded her 21st double double of the season, 83rd of her career and the seventh in a NCAA Tournament game with 19 points and 13 rebounds tonight.
– Sylvia Fowles‘s defensive rebound with 9:24 left was the senior’s 1,526th of her career, making her the Southeastern Conference’s all-time leader in rebounds. Fowles broke former Kentucky star Valerie Still’s record of 1,525. Fowles finished the game with 13 boards for 1,527 for her career.
– Erica White scored in double figures for the eighth game this season and the 27th game of her career with 15 points tonight. She has also now scored in double figures in five NCAA Tournament games.
– Quianna Chaney scored in double figures for the 28th game this season and the 67th game of her career with 10 points tonight. She has also now scored in double figures in six NCAA Tournament games.
Game 2: #2 Texas A&M def. #10 Hartford, 63-39
BATON ROUGE — Second-seeded Texas A&M led 10th-seeded Hartford from start to finish Monday night as the Aggies won 63-39 to advance to the NCAA round of 16 and close out tournament play at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The Aggies (28-7) are making their second trip to the Sweet 16 as their first trip came in 1994. Texas A&M will face the winner of the game between sixth-seeded Arizona State and third-seeded Duke in Oklahoma City. Arizona State and Duke square off Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT in the Comcast Center.
The Aggies now own a 5-4 record in NCAA Tournament play. The loss drops the Hawks record to 28-6 and 2-4 in NCAA Tournament play.
Aggie Danielle Gant made her first four shots and hit 9-11 to finish with a game-high 21 points. Gant also made her presence felt on the defensive side with three steals.
Hartford senior Danielle Hood had a solid performance in her final collegiate game with 13 points and nine rebounds. Hartford sophomore Erica Beverly chipped in with 10 rebounds and nine points
After starting the game with a slim 9-7 lead, the Aggies went on a 10-0 run and didn’t look back as their lead never dipped below 12 points.
Texas A&M limited Hartford to 27.3 field goal percentage on 6-22 shooting in the first half to lead to a commanding 34-19 halftime advantage.
The second half transpired the same way as the first as Texas A&M dominated throughout.
Hartford’s 25 turnovers crippled any chance of the Hawks keeping the game close. The Aggies scored 30 points off of the Hawks’ turnovers.
Hartford out rebounded Texas A&M 35-25, but the Aggies outscored the Hawks down low with a 34-16 points in the paint advantage
The Aggies benefited from strong bench play that was highlighted by Morenikie Atunrase’s 13 points.