COLUMBIA, S.C. — Freshman forward LaSondra Barrett scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the LSU women’s basketball team won its second straight Southeastern Conference road game, 63-56, over South Carolina on Thursday night at Colonial Life Arena.
LSU (11-7, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) defeated the Gamecocks for the 12th straight time dating back to 1999. The Lady Tigers also improved to 9-1 all-time in Columbia as USC remained winless against LSU on its home floor since 1993.
The Gamecocks, who carried a roster of only nine players due to a rash of season-ending injuries, dropped to 9-11 overall and 1-6 in league play.
Barrett reached double-figures for the eighth straight game and finished 7-of-11 from the field to go along with seven rebounds. Junior guard Allison Hightower chipped in 10 points and freshman forward Taylor Turnbow responded with 10 points off the bench in 18 minutes.
“Give South Carolina credit,” LSU head coach Van Chancellor said. “They fought us to the end. Everybody we played tonight contributed in some form or another. Taylor Turnbow comes off the bench and is outstanding. Barrett was outstanding as well, and they really did a good job on Hightower. We found a way to win a basketball game on the road in the SEC and we will take it.”
LSU held a commanding 53-39 lead following back-to-back jumpers by Turnbow with 9:50 to play before South Carolina made a move.
C.J. Pace drained a 3-pointer and the Gamecocks immediately forced a steal with full court pressure that led to a Lakeisha Sutton layup, trimming the lead to under double-digits, 53-44, with 8:37 on the clock. Sutton followed with another bucket one minute later to pull USC within seven.
Hightower and Turnbow silenced the run with baskets of their own, but Pace drained one of six of the Gamecocks’ 3-pointers to pull USC as close as five points, 57-52, with 3:38 to go. Hightower again answered with one of her patented runners through the lane, and Barrett’s jumper at the 2:11 mark gave the Lady Tigers a 61-54 lead.
LSU’s stifling perimeter defense held the Gamecocks to only one made field goal in the final two minutes. Barrett sank a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left that accounted for the final margin.
The Lady Tigers shot 44.8 percent for the game to South Carolina’s 37.5 percent. LSU outrebounded the Gamecocks, 39-29.
South Carolina missed eight of its first nine shots in the first half thanks to stellar LSU defense that held the Gamecocks to 33.3 percent shooting in the first stanza. SC went the first 11 minutes of the game with only one field goal that made it a 4-2 contest with 16:31 to play.
Sophomore guard Katherine Graham, who missed the last three games due to a knee injury, made her first appearance at the 12:42 point in the first half and culminated an 11-2 run. Graham knocked down her first shot at the 12:19 mark to make it 11-2 in favor of LSU.
The Lady Tigers then added an 8-0 run highlighted by a layup from Dunning and a jumper from Hightower. LSU held its largest lead of the first stanza, 22-7, after Latear Eason assisted Courtney Jones on a layup off a steal.
South Carolina pulled within seven points on a 3-pointer by Lakeisha Sutton and a made free throw by Charanee Stephens with 1:19 left in the half. LSU took a 31-22 halftime lead into the locker room.
LSU returns home to face No. 4 Auburn at 2 p.m. CST Sunday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The game will be televised live on Cox Sports Television.