LITTLE ROCK, Ark.– Sophomore guard Jenna Deemer hit a career-best six 3-pointers to lead LSU to a 57-51 win over Little Rock here at the Jack Stephens Center Wednesday evening. LSU improved to 2-1 on the year with the win over Little Rock.
Deemer led the Lady Tigers with 19 points. She was 6-of-13 from the field, including a 6-of-9 mark from the 3-point line. She also hauled in four rebounds. Raigyne Moncrief led LSU in rebounding with eight boards, including seven defensive rebounds. She was held to just eight points off 3-of-16 shooting from the field. Junior Alexis Hyder scored nine points and pulled down five rebounds.
“The three ball by Jenna became the equalizer to the offensive struggles we were having tonight,” said head coach Nikki Fargas. “I thought Ray (Raigyne Moncrief) and Akilah (Bethel) did a nice job of trying to find her, especially in the open court.”
The Lady Tigers were down by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter before turning up the defense and chipping away at the deficit. LSU took its first lead of the fourth period off a free throw by Hyder for a 49-48 Lady Tiger lead with 2:09 left in the game. LSU did not trail again in the contest and had a six-point lead, 54-48, on Deemer’s sixth trey of the game.
Three players scored in double figures for Little Rock, led by Shanity James’ 13 points. Monique Townson added 12 points and Sharde Collins tallied 11 points, including a 3-of-3 shooting clip from 3-point range.
The Lady Tigers went to the locker room down by four, 24-20, at the half after being held to just six points in the second quarter. Deemer hit three treys late in the first quarter, including a half-court shot at the buzzer, to give LSU a lead, 14-10, going into the second quarter. LSU shot 33.3 percent (7-21) in the first half while Little Rock was 10-of-25 from the field for a 40-percent shooting mark. The Lady Tigers struggled from the line in the first half, hitting just three of 10 shots from the charity stripe.
LSU Starters
Akilah Bethel, Alexis Hyder, Anne Pedersen, Raigyne Moncrief, Rina Hill
Little Rock Starters
Shanity James, Kaitlyn Pratt, Monique Townson, Alexius Dawn, Sharde Collins
Game Notes
With the win over Little Rock, LSU leads the series 2-1. The Lady Tigers avenged last season’s loss to the Trojans in Baton Rouge.
Junior Raigyne Moncrief has started 23 consecutive games for the Lady Tigers. She has posted at least one rebound and scored in all 65 games she has played in.
Senior Anne Pedersen has started 20 consecutive games dating back to the midpoint of last season.
Jenna Deemer‘s six three pointers in tonight’s game is a career high for the sophomore guard. Her previous best was four treys on the road at Miami last season. Her 19 points are the most for Deemer since she scored 22 points against Ole Miss last season.
Senior forward Ann Jones recorded a career-best four blocked shots in the win over Little Rock. It was the second time in her career that she has registered multiple blocks in a game. Jones’ four blocks was the most for a Lady Tiger since Shanece McKinney posted five blocks in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against West Virginia.
Up Next
The Lady Tigers return to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Saturday, November 21, for a 2 p.m. game against Long Beach State. The game will be the fourth contest in a stretch of five games in 11 days that LSU is playing to open the 2015-16 season.
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.