NASHVILLE — No. 18 Vanderbilt led by as many as nine points in the second half and held on in the final minutes to snap the LSU women’s basketball team’s Southeastern Conference regular season winning streak at 17 games by a score of 75-67 on Sunday at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Lady Tigers (9-6, 2-1) saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. LSU, which went 14-0 a season ago, lost an SEC regular season game for the first time since Feb. 22, 2007 here at Vanderbilt.
Head coach Van Chancellor also lost an SEC regular season game for the first time in his career at LSU. Chancellor was previously 16-0 and had not dropped an SEC regular season game since his final season at Ole Miss in 1997.
Vanderbilt improved to 14-4 overall and 3-0 in SEC play to claim a share of first place in the league standings with Auburn, who was a winner on Sunday. The Lady Tigers gave the Commodores, who toppled Tennessee 74-58 a week ago, their toughest SEC test to date.
“The two things that hurt us today were 21 offensive boards and 20 turnovers,” Chancellor said. “We have to get a lot tougher and more physical on the road, but I was proud of how well we played today. (Allison) Hightower was outstanding again. We got into foul trouble but we still had opportunities late to win the game. Our team just wasn’t ready for that style of play we saw on the road today.”
LSU junior guard Allison Hightower led all scorers with a career-high 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Hightower had 12 of her 22 in the second half and finished with seven rebounds and career-high-tying four steals.
Freshman center Ayana Dunning registered her first career double-double with a career-best 20 points and 10 rebounds. LSU was playing without the services of sophomore guard Katherine Graham, who suffered a sprained left knee at New Orleans on Wednesday.
LSU shot 49.1 percent for the game, the highest percentage the Commodores have allowed all season. Vandy outrebounded LSU 42-33 and managed 18 second-chance points.
The Commodores claimed a 59-50 advantage with 9:13 left to play, but LSU fought hard and came within four points on a jumper by Dunning. Vandy still led 68-64, but Jennifer Risper put the game away with a jumper and Merideth Marsh dropped a 3-pointer with 2:35 to go.
Christina Wirth led Vanderbilt with 17 points while Chanel Chisholm chipped in 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
LSU led by as many as eight points in the first half. The Lady Tigers scored six straight midway through the period and forced the Commodores into several early turnovers that resulted in points. Hightower drained a jumper and Courtney Jones buried a shot from the top of the key that gave LSU an 18-10 advantage with 10:47 to play.
Jessica Mooney’s 3-pointer, Vandy’s first of the game, cut the lead to 20-17 with 8:20 remaining. Chisholm made it a one-point contest on a layup. However, Hightower took over with four points during an 8-2 run that built the lead back up to seven points. Dunning’s two free throws made it a 28-21 contest before the Commodores awoke in the final four minutes of the first half.
Vandy mounted a 10-2 run and it took its first lead of the game on a layup by Chisholm in the final seconds, 31-30. The Commodores’ full court pressure ignited the rally. Chisholm and Mooney both drained a pair of free throws as LSU did not score in the final 2:42 on the first stanza.
The Lady Tigers return to action on Thursday against Mississippi State in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST.