TAMPA, Fla. – The LSU women’s basketball team had its season come to a close as No. 25 USF defeated the Lady Tigers 73-64 in-front of 5,560 fans during the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday evening at the Sun Dome.
The Lady Tigers finish at 17-14 overall, while USF improved to 27-7. LSU was making its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance under Nikki Caldwell. The 27 wins for the Bulls matched a program single-season. USF advances to face No. 8 Louisville in Monday’s NCAA Second Round on its home court.
“A lot of credit to USF; they really did a nice job of attacking the rim,” Caldwell said. “I thought that was key. A key component in tonight’s game was who was going to keep who off the boards. I’m very proud of my young team. We’re not one of the biggest teams in our conference or in the country but we play with a lot of heart and we really did a nice job at times of playing as a unit. We’re going to miss our three seniors. DaShawn Harden has done a phenomenal job for us in a short period of time. She and (Sheila) Boykin have meant a lot to our program as well as Anne Pedersen.
The loss overshadowed the play of LSU starting backcourt of Danielle Ballard, DaShawn Harden and Raigyne Moncrief who piled up 46 of LSU’s 64 points.
Ballard, the All-SEC First-Team pick, registered a team-leading 17 points coupled with seven rebounds, six steals and three assists. She has reeled of double figures in 14 of her 15 appearances and her last five NCAA Tournament games going back to the 2013 season.
Harden threw in 16 points during her final game with the Purple and Gold. She garnered 11 of her 15 efforts in double figures during her senior campaign as a starter.
Moncrief notched her fifth double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She reached 10-plus points for a team-leading 22nd time on the season and in 13 of her last 15 outings.
Off the bench, Jenna Deemer tacked on seven points. Ann Jones battled her way to six points and six rebounds for the Lady Tigers.
LSU had its streak of 16 consecutive victories in opening round games at the NCAA Tournament come to a close. The last time LSU lost a NCAA opener was a 93-73 decision to Lamar in 1991. The Lady Tigers have posted a 43-24 overall record in NCAA Tournament play.
LSU had a five-point advantage early in the contest and overcame a tough first-half deficit at the foul line to cut the game to six at intermission. However, two quick three-pointers by USF inside the opening 54 seconds of the second half put the game in a position where the Lady Tigers were unable to get back closer than eight in the second half. USF led by as much as 17 in the final four minutes of the contest.
Courtney Williams, who became the all-time single season scorer in USF women’s history, led the Bulls with 17 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Alisia Jenkins had 15 points and Maria Jespersen added 11.
Alisia Jenkins added 15 points and eight rebounds, while Maria Jespersen fired in 11 points off the bench on a flawless 5-of-5 shooting.
Neither team shot particularly well with LSU making 39 percent (26-of-67) and USF garnering a 37 percent shooting clip (24-of-65). Both teams made 3 treys, but the first half saw USF spend much of the first 20 minutes at the charity stripe. For the game, the Bulls were 22-of-29 compared to a 9-of-12 for the Lady Tigers at the foul line.
The Lady Tigers started well and buried four of its five field goal attempts to open the game. Ballard provided two buckets followed by baskets for Harden and Moncrief to give LSU an 8-3 edge at the 17:28 mark.
USF responded with a quick move forward and 24 of the next 31 points over the next 8:43 off the clock to take a 27-15 lead with 8:00 remaining. The Bulls were sparked by 12 of their 24 points coming from the free throw line.
LSU’s frontcourt had to deal with foul trouble as Anne Pedersen, Sheila Boykin and Akilah Bethel each had two fouls before the 10-minute mark of the contest. USF dominated the boards as LSU was limited to one shot or turned the ball over on 24 of its first 25 possessions of the contest.
The Lady Tigers were able to conclude the opening stanza with a strong finishing kick. Trailing 37-27 with 1:44 remaining, Pedersen dialed up a three-pointer to cut the margin to seven at 37-30.
On LSU’s next possession, Ballard stole the ball and had a chance to trim the margin down to five points but misfired on a layup.
With 1.2 seconds to go, the Lady Tigers executed an alley-oop in the lane. Ballard lobbed the ball to Moncrief who beat the buzzer with a 5-footer in the lane which pulled LSU within 38-32 at intermission.
The Lady Tigers had a 14-11 advantage in field goals with one three-pointer, but USF was 16-of-20 at the free throw line. LSU only went to the stripe four times and went 3-for-4 during the opening 20 minutes.
After going 0-for-8 from beyond the three-point line in the first half, Laura Ferreira drained back-to-back triples inside the first 54 seconds to double USF’s lead to 12, 44-32.
Out of the timeout, LSU turned the ball over and Jenkins drove through the LSU defense to stretch the home team’s advantage to 14 points with 18:30 left.
The Lady Tigers wouldn’t away as Harden bookended treys between a Ballard driving layup to bring LSU to 48-40 at the 16:34 mark.
LSU stayed within striking distance, but USF used a 14-6 spurt to extend a nine-point margin from 57-48 to its largest lead at 71-54 with 3:40 remaining.
After a pair of Williams free throws gave her USF’s single season scoring record, the Lady Tigers amassed the final six points for the closing margin of 73-64.
LSU committed 16 turnovers compare to 13 for the Bulls. USF compiled a 16-10 advantage in points off of turnovers. The Bulls also scored 20 of the game’s 29 points on second chance opportunities.
“In the first half, we had three of our post players on the bench and had to go with a smaller lineup,” Caldwell said. “I do feel like that affected us in the first half being in foul trouble. We liked the tempo of the game when it’s flowing and not choppy and in consistent with calls. We like when were able to play fluently especially being in a conference like the SEC where it is physical. The one thing that I will say (is) at the end (of the first half) that momentum play that Moncrief hit definitely was a positive in our favor. We talked about the first four minutes of the second half, and that half you have to win that segment. We missed some opportunities to keep them off the glass. Their first eight points were off second chance points in that segment so the board play was a factor were we could not keep them off the glass. They did a phenomenal job on the offensive boards.”
For all of the latest news and information on Lady Tiger basketball, visit www.LSUsports.net.womensbasketball. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/LSUwbkb, @LSUwbkb and @NikkiCaldwell on Twitter, @LSUwbkb and @LSUNikkiCaldwell on Instagram.