BATON ROUGE — Mississippi State guard Armelie Lumanu drained a six-foot jumper off the glass as time expired giving the Lady Bulldogs a dramatic 38-36 win over the LSU women’s basketball team on Thursday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The Lady Tigers (9-7, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) dropped their second straight contest and saw its 17-game winning streak against Mississippi State come to an end. LSU, who was once again playing without guard Katherine Graham due to a knee injury, managed only 14 second-half points and finished 23.2 percent (13-of-56) from the field for the game.
The Lady Bulldogs (15-4, 3-2) won for the first time ever in Baton Rouge. MSU was previously 0-19 against LSU in the Maravich Center since the series first began in 1977. MSU struggled as well from the floor, connecting on just 28.6 percent (16-of-56) of its shots.
“This is one of the toughest losses I’ve ever had in my career,” LSU head coach Van Chancellor said. “I thought we let the game get away from us. I thought we should have won. The last play of the game, we were supposed to come up and double the ball, and we didn’t. ”
The Lady Bulldogs capitalized in the final two minutes as LSU saw a three-point lead slip away. Freshman forward LaSondra Barrett gave the Lady Tigers a 36-33 advantage on a layup at the 1:59 mark, but MSU guard Alexis Rack nailed a 3-pointer on the other end as the shot clock was winding down to tie the game at 36 all with 1:24 to play.
After both teams traded misses in the final minute, LSU called a 30-second timeout with 0:35 to go. Sophomore guard Latear Eason‘s jumper misfired with 0:19 allowing the Lady Bulldogs to hold for the final possession.
“We called a play and had the player we wanted with the ball wide open,” Chancellor said. “We just couldn’t throw it to her. We have had trouble taking things from the timeout onto the floor this season, especially late in the games.”
MSU then spread the floor and got the ball to Lumanu who held for the final shot and converted a jumper off the glass from the right side as the horn sounded. Television replays confirmed the shot was released prior to the final buzzer solidifying the Lady Bulldogs’ first win in Baton Rouge.
Junior guard Allison Hightower and Barrett each poured in 10 points for LSU, and freshman center Ayana Dunning grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds to go along with nine points. Dunning was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Hightower blocked a career-high four shots and gathered two steals.
MSU forward Robin Porter chipped in 10 points while Lumanu finished with nine points and six boards.
LSU outrebounded MSU, 49-37, for the game but committed 19 turnovers that led to nine points. The Lady Tigers claimed a 22-17 lead in a first half that was also a defensive struggle. LSU lost an SEC home regular season game for the first time since Feb. 19, 2007 after winning nine in a row leading up to Thursday night.
LSU begins a two-game road swing to close the month of January as the Lady Tigers travel to Lexington, Ky., to face the Kentucky Wildcats at noon CST Sunday. LSU then takes on South Carolina on Jan. 29 in Columbia.
LSU HEAD COACH VAN CHANCELLOR
On subbing Dunning for the last 35 seconds of the game…
“We were trying to put (Ayana) Dunning on offense and (Courtney) Jones on defense. We got caught at the end. We called a play and had the player we wanted with the ball wide open. We just couldn’t throw it to her. We have had trouble taking things from the time out on to the floor this season, especially late in the games.”
On Mississippi State’s offensive game…
“They played a little tandem zone that we’ve seen all year. We just couldn’t make a shot. We couldn’t keep from turning the ball over. We were too busy reversing the ball from one guard to the next instead of attacking the basket. The last play of the game, we were supposed to come up and double the ball, and we didn’t. We’re just struggling to execute in close games. I don’t know why. I think we really miss Katherine Graham. I hate to lay it there. This is one of the toughest losses I’ve ever had in my career. I thought we let the game get away from us. I thought we should have won.”
LSU PLAYER QUOTES
Guard Allison Hightower
On the Lady Tigers’ struggles tonight…
“We had a hard time scoring the ball. We were getting some looks, but we didn’t knock them down. We were giving them some looks on offense. They scored, and we didn’t.”
On if LSU’s motion in the offense was good…
“I think we could have been a little more aggressive against their defense. I think we were just holding back a little bit and not taking it to them.”
On how she gets the freshmen past this game as one of the team leaders…
“Obviously, this loss hurts. We have to go back to practice and just start over and rebound. We have to come together and tell ourselves that we can’t have another game like that.”
Forward LaSondra Barrett
On if she was nervous tonight…
“No, I wasn’t nervous. It wasn’t comfortable. It wasn’t relaxed. We were playing not to mess up or make a mistake. We tried so hard not to make a mistake or not to do this that we were actually hurting ourselves because we weren’t playing our natural games. I wasn’t nervous at all. My shots just weren’t falling. We were tentative tonight.”
MISSISSIPPI STATE HEAD COACH SHARON FANNING
Opening Statement …
“This wasn’t the best game as far as execution, but it will probably go down as one of the most exciting. I felt like we really had to make some adjustments, but I was so proud of how we stepped up and kept competing. I thought in the first half we weren’t very tough, but in the second half I thought we were a little bit tougher. I was pleased with how we battled. A lot of times when shots aren’t falling, you have to rely on defense and rebounding. We forced enough turnovers down the stretch. The biggest thing is we kept defensive pressure off for the most part and we contested shots and limited second looks and if they did get a rebound we tried to keep them off the free throw line. Somehow we got another possession and of course down the stretch you want the pressure on the defense and (Armelie Lumanu) took it to the hole just like we drew it up and found a way to win the ball game.”
On Mississippi State’s defensive scheme …
“We started out in a man and (Allison) Hightower penetrates so well. They (LSU) have balanced scoring and a lot of good depth as far as good athletes. I thought we did a better job guarding areas and trying to get to shooters. Outside of two or three possessions I felt like we did a good job contesting shots. I was really proud of the team effort.”
On the last possession …
“When you have one possession left and it’s to tie the game, you’re going to take that shot with one or two seconds left on the clock. We put it in (Lumanu’s) hands and she has great reliability on whether to drive to the rim or pull up and take a jumper or pass it out to the perimeter. I felt like she made a good decision and got to the rim and had balance and that’s what we’ve been talking to her about.”