KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – LSU’s starting backcourt of Danielle Ballard, Rina Hill and Raigyne Moncrief combined for 42 points, but the LSU women’s basketball team dropped a 75-58 decision at No. 5 Tennessee on Thursday evening at Thompson-Boling Arena.
LSU (10-9, 4-3 SEC) was playing its fourth consecutive game against a Top 15 opponent, a first for the Lady Tigers during the SEC regular season since the 1998-99 season. LSU also was playing without its second-leading scorer DaShawn Harden due to injury.
Ballard and Moncrief registered 15 points and five rebounds apiece. Both players collected double figures for the third consecutive game. For Ballard, she dished out four assists for the Lady Tigers.
Hill amassed a season’s best 12 points on a crisp 5-of-7 from the floor. She added two assists and two steals over a season-high 32 minutes of action. Anne Pedersen and Ann Jones chipped in five and four points, respectively.
“Tonight, we played a very good basketball team in Tennessee,” head coach Nikki Caldwell said. “I felt as though our lack of intensity to defend them was evident. I didn’t feel as though our team came with the same type of aggressive play as we have played. Tennessee has a very balanced attack when you look at not only their ability to stretch you to the perimeter but also their ability to attack you inside. (Isabelle) Harrison was a true go-to player inside, and that gave us some fits. We have to take this game, we have to look at and we have to obviously move forward because the SEC is a very tough conference. We have to continue to grow as a basketball team.”
Tennessee (16-3, 6-0 SEC) was fueled by Isabelle Harrison, a Wooden Award finalist. She racked up 25 points and hauled down eight rebounds. Andraya Carter tacked on 13 points aided by a trio of treys and secured three steals. The Carter-Harrison duo put together an efficient 14-of-17 shooting effort.
As a team, LSU turned in a 23-for-50 shooting performance but misfired on five of its six three-point attempts. The Lady Tigers put forth an 11-of-18 mark at the free throw line.
Tennessee was 25-of-45 from the floor and connected on 6-of-11 from beyond the three-point arc. The Lady Vols cashed in with a 19-for-21 mark from the charity stripe and shot 20 of their 21 free throws during the second half.
After trading the first 12 points of the contest, Tennessee reeled off 16 of the next 22 points to snatch a 23-12 advantage with 10:23 remaining. The Lady dialed up a trio of three-pointers to spark the run.
LSU came away with six of the final eight points over the last 4:30 to draw back to 32-24 going into halftime. Ballard drove in for a layup and hit a pair of free throws sandwiched between a Moncrief midrange jumper.
Ballard began the second half scoring with a jumper from the right baseline to make it 32-26, but Tennessee fired back with a 13-2 spurt. Carter would bookend the run with three-pointers, and the Lady Vols went ahead 45-28 with 15:29 remaining.
LSU would get as close as 62-52 at the 3:04 mark after Hill and Ballard drained jumpers 40 seconds apart. The Lady Vols would score nine of their final 13 points courtesy of the free throw to complete the 17-point win.
“There were a couple of possessions where we were able to get within striking distance,” Caldwell said. “You can’t fall behind to anyone in the SEC like we did tonight. When Tennessee is operating at a high level of efficiency on offense and making those momentum plays, then defensively you have to be able to disrupt that. We should have done a much better job on the defensive end. When this team believes in something, it works. I didn’t feel as though we had that same belief in our capability in defending Tennessee.”
After one of its two SEC byes, the Lady Tigers return to action to meet Ole Miss next Thursday. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. from the Maravich Center. The game will be televised by the SEC Network along with www.WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.
The LSU Sports Radio Network will broadcast the game on its flagship station Talk 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge. Patrick Wright, the voice of the Lady Tiger, will call the action. The broadcast also will be available for Geaux Zone subscribers at www.LSUsports.net/live.
For all of the latest news and information on Lady Tiger basketball, visit www.LSUsports.net/womensbasketball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/LSUwbkb, @lsuwbkb and @NikkiCaldwell on Twitter, @LSUwbkb and @LSUNikkiCaldwell on Instagram.