NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Without their top three-point threat to counter Vanderbilt’s long-range game, the Lady Tigers dropped a 58-42 decision to the Commodores here at Memorial Gym Thursday evening.
The Lady Tigers were without their biggest three-point threat and leading scorer, Jenna Deemer, who was sidelined with an illness. This was the first game that Deemer has missed in her career at LSU. Deemer has hit 28 of LSU’s 38 treys this season. In addition, Alexis Hyder remained on the bench a portion of the second half after picking up her fourth foul with 3:17 remaining in the third quarter. Hyder was leading the squad with 10 points when she had to take a seat on the bench. She finished the game with 10 points.
Vanderbilt scored 21 of their 58 points on three-pointers. They were 7-of-18 from long range, while the Lady Tigers hit just one trey in the game – a shot by Jasmine Rhodes in the fourth quarter.
The loss dropped the Lady Tigers to 7-10 on the year; 1-3 in SEC action. Vanderbilt improved to 13-4 overall; 2-2 in the SEC.
Akilah Bethel led the Lady Tigers in scoring with 11 points off a 5-of-10 shooting effort from the field. She also dropped in a free throw and led the team in steals with three. Rhodes also scored in double figures with 10 points. She and Hyder led the way in rebounding with eight boards apiece. The eight rebounds was a season high for Rhodes. Hyder also posted a career high in leading LSU with six of the Lady Tigers’ 12 assists.
For the game, LSU shot 33 percent (17-51) from the field while Vanderbilt posted a 50-percent (24-28) shooting clip. The Lady Tigers held the rebounding advantage, 38-25, over the Commodores. Eighteen of LSU’s rebounds in the game were offensive boards.
“I thought Vanderbilt came out very much locked into finding the open players and we didn’t take away those easy looks,” said LSU head coach Nikki Fargas. “At the first five minutes of the first quarter, they didn’t miss. I think they were five for five before they missed their first shot. Offensively, we struggled again to score the basketball.”
“It was promising, though, that we had 18 offensive rebounds, but it was disheartening that we didn’t connect and score off of those offensive rebounds,” added Fargas. “Again, this is a team that I feel is still looking for our identity. How do we want to play? What do we want to be known for? Until we make that a deciding factor each night for 40 minutes, it is going to be a long season for us. We know that we have some missing pieces to the puzzle, but we are asking everybody to really dig deep and try to do their very best.”
The Lady Tigers were down by just four points at the end of the first quarter. Vanderbilt was firing away from behind the arc and opened the game 3-of-3 on treys before missing their next five attempts. In the second quarter, Vanderbilt did not take a single shot from three-point range. Vanderbilt used a 10-3 run to open the second quarter to secure the 27-20 lead at the half. Alexis Hyder, who was back in the starting lineup today, led the Lady Tigers at the half with eight points. Jasmine Rhodes had six points at the half.
In the first half, LSU was 9-of-12 from the field and did not take a shot from three-point range. Vanderbilt was 12-of-26 from the field, including the 3-of-8 mark in three-pointers. VU outrebounded LSU, 14-12, at the half and had scored nine points of eight LSU turnovers.
Vanderbilt jumped out to a 15-point lead, 35-20, at the start of the third quarter after dropping in two more three pointers. LSU missed six consecutive field goals to open the third period and finally made it on the board following two free throws by Shanice Norton. Bethel hit LSU’s first field goal of the quarter at the six-minute mark. Alexis Hyder picked up her fourth foul with 3:17 left in the third and had to head to the bench with 10 points and six rebounds. LSU was a dismal 2-of-14 on field goals in the third quarter, while Vanderbilt hit seven of their 11 shots from the field. The Commodores outscored the Lady Tigers 17-8 in the third and held a 44-28 lead going into the fourth period.
LSU continued to battle in the fourth quarter and matched Vanderbilt’s 14 points but the third-quarter deficit was too much to overcome. Bethel scored nine of her 11 points in the second half.
The Lady Tigers continue their two-game SEC road swing with a match-up with the No. 20/21 Florida Gators on Sunday in Gainesville, Fla. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. CT in the O’Connell Center.
The Gators are 14-3 overall; 2-2 in the SEC, following a 71-61 loss to Georgia at home Thursday.
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