BATON ROUGE — Junior guard Allison Hightower scored 17 points and the LSU women’s basketball team held Alabama to a season-low 25 percent shooting as the Lady Tigers rolled past the Crimson Tide, 55-34, on Sunday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU (8-5, 2-0 SEC) won for the seventh time in the past nine games and began Southeastern Conference play with a 2-0 mark for the second straight year and the sixth time in the past seven seasons.
The Lady Tigers also increased the league’s longest SEC regular season winning streak to 17 games, including nine consecutive home wins in the friendly confines of the Maravich Center. LSU has not lost a regular season league game since Feb. 22, 2007 at Vanderbilt.
Alabama (12-5, 0-2) dropped its 10th straight game to LSU. The Crimson Tide was held to a season-low 34 points, 42 points below its season average. Alabama entered Sunday’s game after posting 54 points in the second half against Vanderbilt on Thursday before coming up short. Meanwhile, the 24th-ranked Commodores toppled No. 11 Tennessee, 74-58, on Sunday.
“If you appreciate good defense, you’ll appreciate this game,” LSU head coach Van Chancellor said. “I thought our defense tonight was outstanding. We only gave up 34 points and 34 points in the SEC is really good. Our perimeter defense on some great three-point shooting players was outstanding. We’re going to win games here at LSU on defense and rebounding the ball. I thought we did an excellent job of not giving up second shots.”
Hightower buried 10 of her 17 points in the second half and finished an efficient 8-of-11 from the floor with three assists and two blocks. Sophomore guard Katherine Graham turned in another solid defensive effort with three steals and six rebounds while registering a career-high 11 points.
Freshman forward LaSondra Barrett, who poured in 27 points at Arkansas, reached double-figures for the third straight game with 10 points.
“(Katherine) Graham and (Allison) Hightower were really good on both ends, defensively and offensively,” Chancellor added. “(Latear) Eason was really good at running our team tonight. They shot the ball really well.”
LSU once again dominated inside the paint outscoring the Tide, 28-8 and grabbing 48 rebounds to Alabama’s 37. Despite struggling from the field at 39.7 percent shooting, LSU used its stellar defensive edge to take control of the game.
Alabama’s 34 points were the lowest total scored on the Lady Tigers in an SEC regular season tilt since Mississippi State managed only 31 points on Jan. 20 last season.
LSU doubled up the Tide at the half and claimed a 24-12 advantage into the locker room. That lead quickly built to 31-18 in the first five minutes on a jumper by Hightower and a pair of layups from Barrett.
The Lady Tigers put the game out of reach with an 11-0 run starting at the 8:55 mark on a made basket by freshman Courtney Jones. Graham then buried a great look from the left elbow and followed that up with another jumper off a turnover to extend the barrage to 20 points, 47-27, with 8:06 to play.
LSU held its largest lead, 55-29, with 3:29 remaining in the game after Graham connected on a free throw.
Points were hard to come by in the first half as both teams shot under 35 percent in the first 20 minutes. However, LSU used an early 11-0 run to jump in front of the Tide highlighted by a pair of buckets from Hightower.
Alabama managed only two field goals in the first 11 minutes. Freshman guard Ericka Russell, who dropped 25 on Vanderbilt, was held to seven points for the game. Tierney Jenkins led the Tide in scoring with 10 points and six boards.
LSU plays its final non-conference game of the year at New Orleans at 7 p.m. CST Wednesday in Lakefront Arena. The Lady Tigers, who play four of their next five games on the road, resume conference action at Vanderbilt next Sunday at 2 p.m. CST.
LSU HEAD COACH VAN CHANCELLOR
Opening statement…
“If you appreciate good defense, you’ll appreciate this game. I thought our defense tonight was outstanding. We gave up 34 points and 34 points in the SEC is really good. I thought our perimeter defense on some great three-point shooting players was outstanding. I thought (Katherine) Graham and (Allison) Hightower were really good on both ends, defensively and offensively. I thought (Latear)Eason was really good at running our team tonight. They shot the ball really well. We won a game today with shooting 49 percent shooting from the free throw line and don’t make a three ball and shoot 39 percent from the field and win. That’s pretty good. We have to find a way to win. We’ve got a young team, and we’re just scratching and clawing trying to get every win we can.”
On having a few “ugly wins” throughout the season…
“When you win by 21 points that’s not an ugly win. I’m going to take this win and be happy. We’re going to take it. We’re going to win games here at LSU on defense and rebounding the ball. I thought we did an excellent job of not giving up second shots.”
On what undefeated in conference play means to the team…
“It’s always good. 2-0 means you have a shot at winning first. That’s a great feeling.”
LSU PLAYER QUOTES
On confidence from victory today…
“We’re very confident right now. We have a lot of momentum from our last couple of games. We have to continue to come to practice with a mindset that we have to get better and this is SEC play now, so we have to pick it up. I think that’s what we’ve really done.”
On defending Alabama…
“I think that here at LSU we take a lot of pride in our defense. We really try to focus on that in practice. LSU is known for our defense, and we don’t want to let that up and keep it going.”
On keeping undefeated SEC streak alive…
“We try to take it one game at a time. We’re just looking at the next game because it’s the most important game we play. We take it one game at a time and try not to rush anything and keep getting better.”
On Coach Van Chancellor‘s thoughts on career high game…
“He (Coach Chancellor) told me that I had a good game and he liked what I did, but I need to block out more and secure more rebounds.”
On defending Alabama’s Ericka Russell…
“We didn’t come into the game focusing on one player. We knew they were a good transition team and went to the offensive boards well. We tried to focus on what we needed to do to stop the team and not just focus on the individual players.”
ALABAMA HEAD COACH WENDELL HUDSON
Opening Statement …
“LSU is a good basketball team. We’re a team that kind of depends on the three point shot a little more than other teams, we didn’t make very many and LSU had a lot to do with the reason we didn’t make very many three-point shots. There were times I thought we were open and had the opportunity to make some shots and we didn’t make them. Basketball is a game of scoring points; you just don’t win on the defensive side of the court. Both teams played pretty hard, LSU did not take a three-point attempt in the second half, but made some two-pointers. That (LSU) is a very good, young team. At the end of the day, you have to score points. I thought we had some good looks, but LSU had some good looks too; we just didn’t shoot the ball very well.”
On the difference in this game and their 54 point second half against Vanderbilt …
“I don’t think we shared the ball the way we did in the Vanderbilt game. I don’t think we played as well as we could have played, but I also think LSU is a team that can make you have problems playing as well as you can play from a team standpoint.”
On if LSU is a contender in the SEC race …
“Oh yes, of course. I think they’re a team that’s young and athletic and by the time this season is over and they go through this league they will get better and better and better.”