FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — After a sluggish first half where both teams combined for 30 turnovers, the 11th-ranked LSU women’s basketball team erupted with 15-0 second-half run to pull away from Arkansas and win its fourth straight game, 65-38, on Thursday night at Bud Walton Arena.
The Lady Tigers (13-1, 2-0 SEC) won their seventh consecutive Southeastern Conference game dating back to last season and captured their third straight road game for the first time since 2008.
The Lady Razorbacks fell to 8-7 overall and dropped to 0-2 in league play. Arkansas lost its 15th consecutive game to LSU and its seventh straight to the Lady Tigers on its home floor. The last 12 meetings have now seen LSU win by a double-digit margin. Arkansas’ 38 points were also the fewest by the Razorbacks in the series history.
“That was a tale of two halves,” LSU head coach Van Chancellor said. “In the first half we uncharacteristically continued to turn the ball over. We tried every option, but we went in halftime and erased everything. We came out in the second half and played as well as we could. Anytime you can win three in a row on the road, you have to feel happy, especially when you are 2-0 in the SEC.”
Four Lady Tigers scored in double-digits, including 13 points apiece from senior guard Allison Hightower and sophomore forward LaSondra Barrett. Barrett scored all 13 of her points in the second half and point guard Latear Eason added 11 points.
LSU missed its first six shots of the game and turned the ball over four times as Arkansas jumped out to an 8-0 lead. Eason finally put the Lady Tigers on the board with a jumper at the 14:08 mark.
The Razorbacks would go on a dry spell of their own and it allowed LSU to take its first lead of the game. Hightower fired in a jumper and Eason followed with a 3-pointer from the right wing to put the Lady Tigers up 14-13 with 6:00 remaining in the half.
Both teams failed to reach the 20-point mark into the locker room as the score was tied at 19 apiece. LSU committed an uncharacteristic 16 turnovers and shot 31.8 percent in the first 20 minutes. However, a tale of two halves would result for the Lady Tigers, who remained unbeaten in SEC play.
Arkansas took a 21-19 lead with the second half’s first points before LSU mounted a 15-0 run that took control of the game. Katherine Graham started the barrage with a layup and Barrett and Eason delivered with 3-point plays on driving attempts through the lane after being fouled.
Barrett then got to the free throw line again. Two free throws later and another Hightower layup put LSU ahead 32-21 with 17:43 left in the game. Graham closed the 15-0 run with an easy layup. Ashley Daniels gave the Razorbacks their first points in a span of five minutes but the Lady Tigers continued to pour it on.
Barrett pushed the lead to 20 points on a pair of free throws at the 7:38 mark. LSU held its largest lead, 65-36, following an Adrienne Webb 3-pointer from the left wing. The Lady Tigers ended up outscoring Arkansas, 46-19, in one of the most dominating second half’s in school history.
Arkansas finished with 29 turnovers and shot 29.8 percent from the floor for the game. LSU, after a cold start, finished the game at 42.1 percent and 48.6 percent in the second half.
LSU returns home to host Pack the PMAC 14 as the Lady Tigers host Auburn in its SEC home opener at 2 p.m. CST Sunday. The game will be televised live by Fox Sports Net South/Southwest and carried live on ESPN360.com.
Tickets for the game are only $1 for general admission seating. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will have a chance to win a new 2010 Chevy Malibu during a halftime paper airplane toss. Other prizes include digital cameras, Nike sweatshirts, t-shirts and $50 gift certificates to LSUshop.net.
Tickets can be purchased at LSUsports.net as well, by phone, 225-578-2184 or 800-960-TKTS. Fans are strongly encouraged to order and print their tickets online at www.LSUsports.net to avoid long lines on gameday. Admission for LSU students is free of charge.