BATON ROUGE — Junior guard Allison Hightower poured in 18 points and freshman center Ayana Dunning erupted for 11 points as the LSU women’s basketball team rang in 2009 with a convincing 64-50 win over Nebraska on New Year’s Day at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The Lady Tigers (6-4) won for the fifth time in the past six games and turned a close, three-point lead at the half into a double-digit margin. LSU shot 50 percent for the game on a 27-of-54 effort from the field while dishing out 15 assists.
The Cornhuskers (9-4) were outrebounded 44-29 and fell to 0-2 all-time against the Lady Tigers. Nebraska entered the contest after an impressive 62-58 victory over 24th-ranked Arizona State last Sunday.
“I thought this was a win we won in a way that you should win a game,” LSU head coach Van Chancellor said. “This is the kind of victory the team needed. The team didn’t need an ugly win. We needed a pretty win so that the kids go to sleep tonight and feel good about themselves.”
Hightower reached double-figures for the fifth consecutive game and the eighth time this season. She finished 8-of-13 from the floor with five rebounds, three assists and a career-best three blocks.
Meanwhile, Dunning was one of three LSU players to grab nine boards as she continued her emergence as a go-to player for the Lady Tigers with her hustle play. The freshman was 4-of-9 from the field while chipping in three assists in a season-high 28 minutes.
Freshman forward LaSondra Barrett and sophomore guard Katherine Graham each tallied nine boards apiece. The four players sparked a 12-0 second-half run that put the Huskers in a double-digit deficit after LSU held a 31-28 halftime lead.
After Nebraska took its first lead of the game, 35-34, with 15:10 to play, Hightower took over with four straight points on a layup and jumper. Barrett then converted an old-fashioned three-point play when she drew a foul and upped the LSU advantage to 41-36 with 12:03 remaining.
Dunning contributed four consecutive points on the next two possessions highlighted by a terrific hustle play where she followed her shot twice and scored. Hightower’s baseline runner lifted the Lady Tigers to a double-digit margin, 47-36, at the 8:11 mark.
“We came out in the second half and struggled a little bit early,” Chancellor said. “I called a time out, and they responded. We got the game under control, and we began to run. Every play I wanted to run and every execution to get the ball to Hightower and let Barrett screen on the ball and then reverse it and get the ball down to Dunning was performed.”
Meanwhile, LSU’s defense held Nebraska scoreless from the field for over eight minutes until the Huskers answered with a three-pointer with 7:09 to go. Nebraska, which finished 10-of-22 from beyond the arc, stayed within striking distance thanks to several made three-pointers.
Catheryn Redmon cut the lead to 56-48 at the 2:51 mark, but LSU put the game out of reach when freshman guard Destini Hughes drained two three-pointers of her own and Barrett added a layup.
LSU nearly had three players who finished with double-doubles as both Graham and Barrett had nine points apiece to go with their nine boards. The Huskers shot only 28.8 percent on 17-of-59 shooting.
The Lady Tigers begin a two-game road trip when they travel to take on No. 1 Connecticut at 11 a.m. CST Saturday in Hartford on CBS. The matchup pits the only two programs in NCAA women’s college basketball history to reach five consecutive Final Fours.
LSU HEAD COACH VAN CHANCELLOR
Opening statement…
“Sometimes there are wins, but I thought this was a different win. I thought this was a win we won in a way that you should win a game. We came out in the second half and struggled a little bit early. I called a time out, and they responded. We got the game under control, and we began to run. Every play I wanted to run and every execution to get the ball to (Allison) Hightower and let (LaSondra) Barrett screen on the ball and then reverse it and get the ball down to (Ayana) Dunning was performed. I thought Hightower in the last three games has been outstanding. I thought she was again today. 18 points. Five rebounds. Three assists. Three blocks. I was really pleased with Dunning’s play today. I told her today that she came from seventh post all the way to the top of the heat.”
On what has helped Dunning to earn her spot on the team…
“She lost a ton of weight. She got in shape. She’s always been a heck of a player. She got her knee hurt and got out of shape and couldn’t get in condition. We finally got her in enough practice time to get herself some conditioning. It’s just now coming around.”
On needing today’s victory…
“This is the kind of victory the team needed. The team didn’t need an ugly win. We needed a pretty win so that the kids go to sleep tonight and feel good about themselves. We’re still playing down the stretch. We’re still playing three freshman down the stretch with three minutes to go. We don’t play anybody that’s started enough games. This was a pretty win from that standpoint.”
LSU PLAYER QUOTES
On approach on playing today’s game…
“We just tried to take the paint away. They’re aggressive drivers, so we were really working hard on that in practice. They started hitting some threes. We just had to adjust to that. As soon as we adjusted, that really helped our defense.”
On outrebounding Nebraska…
“One of our main goals for this game was to block rebounds. I think we did that for 40 minutes. Ayana (Dunning), LaSondra (Barrett), and Katherine (Graham) really dominated on the boards. I think they each got nine rebounds. It was a complete team effort by everyone to rebound the ball.”
On victory affecting team morale…
“It feels good. We’ve been looking for this win against a good team like Nebraska for a while. It’s starting off the New Year right. We can take this win to Connecticut and play our hardest, and that’s all we can do.”
On finding spot on team…
“I feel like I’m finding my spot on the team. I feel like when the opportunity came I had to seize it and go out there and play my hardest.”
On what has led to increase in playing time from the beginning of the season…
“It had a lot to do with my knee injury and me healing properly.”