LAKE CHARLES, La. — The LSU women’s basketball team built a 20-point halftime lead with an 18-0 run and never looked back as the Lady Tigers used a balanced attack to roll to their third consecutive win, 64-43, over McNeese State before a Burton Coliseum record crowd of 4,089 on Friday night.
The victory snapped the Cowgirls (8-2) eight-game winning streak and 17-game home court winning streak dating back to last season. McNeese lost for the first time since a 67-59 defeat at UCLA in the season-opener on Nov. 11.
LSU (6-3), playing in Lake Charles for the first time since 1991, continued its recent shooting surge connecting for 59.5 percent (25-of-42) from the floor, including a blistering 63.6 percent in the first half. The Lady Tigers have produced three consecutive games of 49 percent shooting or better.
“We had really good offensive execution and we were patient,” said LSU head coach Nikki Caldwell. “We also did a good job of running the basketball and getting some good looks in transition. We had a lot of players step for us. Because we shared the basketball that allowed us to get open looks at the basket. I like seeing unselfish play.”
Freshman Krystal Forthan led the way scoring 15 points – all in the first half – on 6-of-9 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Senior forward LaSondra Barrett finished with 12 points and moved into 19th place in LSU career scoring with 1,226 points. Senior forward Courtney Jones grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and added eight points.
“She (Krystal Forthan) gives us a spark off the bench and she does a great job on the boards,” said Caldwell. “When you have her, Courtney Jones and LaSondra Barrett running together that’s a great force.”
After McNeese grabbed a 2-0 lead, LSU scored 11 unanswered points culminating with five straight from Barrett, including a three-pointer from the top of the key. Barrett provided the Lady Tigers with their first double-digit advantage with another three – this one from the right wing – as LSU led 26-15 with 7:38 remaining in the first half.
Forthan then put on a show over the next three minutes off the bench. She scored seven straight points as part of an impressive 18-0 run that put LSU firmly in control. The freshman converted an old-fashioned three-point play at the 5:08 mark and added a three-pointer from the top of the key that increased the lead to 38-15 with 3:16 to go in the first.
It was the exclamation point on LSU’s most impressive half of the year. The Lady Tigers held McNeese to 21.4 percent shooting in the first half as the Cowgirls went scoreless from the floor for seven minutes.
LSU led by as many as 28 points midway through the second half when Bianca Lutley nailed a three of her own. It was one of seven threes on the night, representing the second-most made treys for the Lady Tigers in a game this season. LSU outscored McNeese 26-25 in the second half, but the game was decided in the first 20 minutes.
For the third consecutive game, LSU held an opponent to under 45 points. It’s the sixth time in nine games this season that a Lady Tiger opponent has failed to reach at least 45 points. McNeese shot a season-low 22.0 percent for the game and was outscored 35-3 by LSU’s bench.
Ashlyn Baggett led the Cowgirls with a game-high 24 points.
LSU faces its second straight Southland Conference opponent at 2 p.m. Sunday as the Lady Tigers host Lamar in the Maravich Center.