TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The LSU women’s basketball team dropped its SEC opener, 62-45, to Alabama here at Foster Auditorium on Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Tigers snapped a four-game winning streak in league openers with the loss to the Crimson Tide. LSU falls to 6-8 on the year, while Alabama improves to 12-2. LSU’s last SEC opening loss was to Tennessee during the 2010-11 season.
Alabama used a 12-0 run through the end of the second quarter and into the third period to pull away, 34-26, following a narrow three-point halftime lead. LSU went over eight minutes without a field goal following Jenna Deemer‘s three-pointer with 9:32 left in the fourth quarter. Akilah Bethel snapped the scoring drought at 1:18 left in the game off a layup and a free-throw shot for the three-point play but LSU was down 60-42 at that point.
“We turned the ball over way too many times and that killed our opportunity to score the basketball,” said head coach Nikki Fargas. “We were in the game down the stretch there and we put ourselves in position to tie the ballgame and we missed that opportunity. I give Alabama a lot of credit, they got on a roll there and did a nice job of staying in there and attacking and pressing. Again, this is a 40-minute game. The first half, we did what we needed to do to put ourselves in position to win, but we have to be better for 40.”
“I stressed to our team that we needed to get the lead going into the half because it gives you momentum,” added Fargas. “The first four minutes of the second half, we struggled to take care of the basketball and we didn’t get ourselves in position to get offensive boards.”
Junior Rina Hill led the Lady Tigers with a career-tying 15 points off a 7-of-13 effort from the field. She and Deemer hit LSU’s only treys in the game. Jasmine Rhodes chipped in eight points and Bethel added seven points. Ann Jones led LSU in rebounding with six boards.
Hannah Cook, who was Alabama’s leading scorer coming into the game, was held to just nine points. Meoshonti Knight led the Crimson Tide with 17 points while Karyla Middlebrook added 10 points. Knight also led Alabama with six of the team’s 14 steals.
After shooting above 50 percent in the first and second quarters, LSU struggled offensively in the second half, hitting just seven of their 27 field goal attempts (26 percent). LSU turned the ball over 25 times in the game and Alabama took advantage of the miscues, scoring 24 points. The teams were tied 20-20 in points in the paint and 16-16 in second chance points. The Crimson Tide held the rebound advantage, 32-29.
The Lady Tigers held the lead for much of the first half and hit nearly 60 percent of their shots from the field. LSU led by as many as seven points in the first quarter and it wasn’t until under a minute left in the second quarter that Alabama took their first lead of the game. Deemer was whistled for her second foul on a three-point shot and Middlebrook converted all three free throws to get Alabama within one, 26-25. Akilah Bethel fouled Nikki Hegstetter and the Alabama forward hit both shots from the charity stripe for the 27-26 lead with 46 seconds remaining in the half. Knight hit a layup and Alexis Hyder‘s shot at the buzzer rimmed out for the Crimson Tide to take a 29-26 lead into the locker room at the break.
At the half, LSU had committed 15 turnovers and Alabama managed to score 16 points off the miscues. The Lady Tigers did hold a narrow 15-13 lead in rebounding. Rhodes and Hill both had eight points at the half.
The Lady Tigers will be back at home next week when they host Ole Miss on Thursday, Jan. 7, at 7:30 p.m., and Texas A&M on Sunday, Jan. 10, at 3 p.m.
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.