BATON ROUGE, La. — The Lady Tiger women’s basketball team dropped a 63-53 decision to Auburn here at the PMAC on Monday evening in the first of three SEC games over a seven-day period. LSU falls to 8-14 overall; 2-7 in conference action.
Four LSU Lady Tigers scored in double figures including Alexis Hyder, who scored a team-leading 17 points. Hyder was 4-of-8 from the field and 9-of-14 from the free-throw line. Hyder has scored in double figures in the last eight-straight games and has led LSU in scoring in nine games this season. The nine free throws made set a new career mark for the junior transfer. She also led LSU in rebounding with nine boards.
Also scoring in double figures in the loss was Rina Hill, who chipped in 11 points, and Akilah Bethel and Jasmine Rhodes, who each contributed 10 points. Hill led LSU in steals with four, while Anne Pedersen posted a team-leading four assists.
LSU entered the fourth quarter down, 38-29, and opened the period with a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to four points, 38-34, before Auburn rolled off a 15-3 run of their own to jump out ahead by 16 with 3:41 left in the game. LSU continued to battle in the quarter and got as close as six points with under 30 seconds remaining on the clock. From the 2:00 mark to the :30 mark, LSU was 4-of-6 on field goals and 4-of-7 on free-throw shots. Down the stretch in that final 30 seconds, both teams were forced to foul and Auburn managed to hit 6-of-8 free throws, while LSU was 2-of-4. Just in the fourth quarter alone, LSU was 12-of-21 from the charity stripe.
LSU missed a total of 13 free throws in the game, including the nine misses in the fourth quarter. LSU also turned the ball over 24 times and Auburn took advantage of the miscues, scoring 26 points. LSU won the turnover margin, forcing Auburn to turn the ball over 30 times, but only scored 18 points off the miscues. The 30 turnovers was a high for an LSU opponent this season. Auburn out-rebounded LSU, 36-28, and also scored 30 points in the paint to LSU’s 24 points.
The LSU Lady Tigers again used a rotation of just seven players, with both Jenna Deemer and Ann Jones out for the last four games. Deemer has missed the last six games with an illness, while this was Jones’ fourth game on the sideline with a leg injury.
Tra’Cee Tanner and Katie Frerking paced Auburn with 13 points apiece. Frerking was 2-of-5 from the field, but converted seven of eight free-throw attempts. Brandy Montgomery and Cabriana Capers both contributed 10 points. Capers led Auburn with nine rebounds. Auburn improved to 14-8 overall; 4-5 in the SEC.
The Lady Tigers opened the game with a 6-0 lead but then went cold offensively, and went over seven minutes without scoring again, opening the door for Auburn to go on a 12-0 run. Hyder hit two free throws with five seconds left on the clock to cut the deficit to four points, 12-8, heading into the second quarter.
Both teams scored just eight points in the second quarter. LSU struck first on layups by Hyder and Bethel to tie the score, 12-12, with 8:08 left in the second period. Auburn added three points on a layup and free throw shot as Tanner was fouled by Hyder on the shot for AU to take the 15-12 lead. LSU answered with a jumper by Bethel and cut the deficit to one. Both teams were held in check for the next four minutes off the clock before AU’s Capers hit a jumper. Rhodes got the game to within one point off two free throws and LSU appeared poised to head into the locker room down by just one before Frerking launched a shot at the buzzer to put Auburn ahead, 20-16 at the half.
LSU was just 6-of-21 (29 percent) from the field in the first half, led by Bethel’s six points. Auburn shot 38 percent from the field (9-24) and was led by Tanner’s seven points. Auburn led the inside game, scoring 16 points in the paint to LSU’s eight points. Auburn also outrebounded LSU, 20-12, in the first half.
The Lady Tigers continue their busy week of three games in seven days when they host Mississippi State on Thursday at 8 p.m. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a therm-o-tote. Local servicemen and servicewomen will be honored at Thursday’s game. LSU closes out the busy week at Kentucky on Sunday at 11 am CT. Both games will be broadcast by SEC Network.
Post-Game Quotes
Auburn Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy
Opening Statement…
“It definitely wasn’t one of the prettiest games, but it was one of those games where our kids came out and had a lot of energy and played with a lot of effort.”
On overcoming 30 turnovers…
“I think if you look at the points off of the turnovers, thank goodness they only scored 18 off of our 30 turnovers whereas we scored 26 off of their 24 turnovers. I think that was one of the keys, just being able to score early on and get a little bit of a lead. But the turnovers were terrible.”
On out-rebounding LSU…
“We knew the last four games they have been a very good offensive rebounding team. We knew that we needed to box them out but we also knew that we needed to get the offensive boards as well. It’s been a point of emphasis for us this year and we ended up with 12 offensive rebounds. I honestly think we could get more than that, we just have to keep getting offensive boards.”
On Cabriana Capers’ career night off the bench…
“She definitely gave us a huge spark coming off the bench. When Tra’Cee (Tanner) got in foul trouble, you’ve got to have that other post player. She came in and got some rebounds, ran full force and really gave us that spark coming off the bench.”
On having the advantage of a full bench against LSU’s six total players…
“I don’t know if it’s an advantage. LSU has been playing with that many kids and still winning games, so that’s something that they’re used to. We had a few kids that got in foul trouble, so that shortened our rotation as well. But for LSU, it’s not anything new to be playing with a short roster and they seem to be doing pretty well with it.”
LSU Head Coach Nikki Fargas
Opening Statement …
“We wanted the game to be a low scoring game and it almost played to our favor except for the turnovers. The turnovers really hurt us. They were able to capitalize on our turnovers. We turned them over more times than they did us, but our inability to score off of our 30 forced turnovers, I thought that was the game as well as the fact that we have a small margin of error. When we are able to get into the paint and get some freebies in there as far as from the free-throw line and it gives ourselves a chance, especially on the offensive end.”
On scoring early and then having the scoring drought…
“I thought we made a couple of baskets early and we were able to get on a run. We’ve got to make sure that the right people are shooting the ball. Our numbers are limited, but our guard play didn’t shoot the ball extremely well. Against the team that plays the zone, that is when you wish you had a Jenna Deemer out there, who can really stretch the zone and can really knock down shots. We had players in good positions to make some plays and to help. We talked about getting ourselves to the free-throw line to help combat some of the deficiency that we have on the offensive end, but when you get yourself there, you’ve got to knock down those free throws. That is something that has plagued us in some of the games that were really close. In the fourth quarter, we went there 21 times and only connected on 12 free throws. We have to make those shots. Those are valuable points for us.”
On effort that the players are showing…
“Our kids, they don’t quit. We’ve been down and they’ve fought. They’ll play until the very end and that says a lot about them. Having a one-man substitution, and possibly Alliyah (Fareo), it does take a toll on those five that start. It cannot not take a toll, but they are pressing through and that’s what (Alexis) Hyder is talking about. You’ve got to have the recovery and be smart about taking care of your body but they know that the bench is thin. Akilah Bethel didn’t have a great game but you know, we didn’t know if we were going to have her. She broke her nose yesterday at practice and she said ‘Coach, I’m going to go and I’m ready.’ We put a beautiful facemask on her and she was out there doing everything that she could. There were some balls that she couldn’t see. Her vision was a little messed up but the fact that she came back and was just going to go out there and try hard to do all she can, that says a lot about who she is.”
On what you say to encourage the players …
“I think one, they’ve got to know that we are in this together and that we are all family. Before we break every huddle, we say ‘family’ because you stick with family through the good and the bad times. This is a rough time for us but they are still coming out and they are still wanting to get better and putting in extra time and putting in extra scouting and things like that and again, they are right there. We need to keep reminding them that they are right there and this is the season that they can really look back on and say I gave my very best and I gave it my all and we have to be able to say that at the end of the season.”
On Hyder …
“She’s been our go-to. She’s taking on that responsibility and she’s someone that can play one through five. We have her at the point, we have her breaking the press. We have her helping in outlets and she’s a great passer, she has great footwork, she can score the basketball and she’ll get in there and take charges. She’s really coming into her own. She’s going to still be one of those players that we are going to continue to go to and she definitely is answering that call. She’s doing a nice job too at taking ownership. She wants the ball in late game situations and she’s coming up with point production that we’ve struggled with. I thought tonight, when she got into foul trouble, I thought that really hurt us, not having her for such a long time. She is that player that can calm the waters by scoring the basketball.”
LSU Guard Rina Hill
On Auburn’s full-court press…
“We knew that they were going to press pretty much the whole game and we were prepared to break their press and be aggressive. But I think I did not do a good job of setting the tone and being aggressive on breaking the press.”
On hitting shots early then struggling shooting after that…
“I think, especially in the first half on some possessions, we weren’t aware of the shot clock winding down and there were shots we had to rush and just get the shot up. I think our awareness was definitely not there in the first half and especially for me when my jump shots aren’t falling I have to be more aggressive and take it to the hole and draw a foul. I think I need to make some changes earlier.”
LSU Forward Alexis Hyder
On having a good offensive game…
“Personally I don’t feel good going home with a loss. I don’t care if I had 100 points, that doesn’t matter to me. If I had two points and we won, we had a good game. So, we’re just trying to do everything possible as a team to get a ‘W.’ I don’t feel like I had a good game because I missed five free throws. That makes a difference in a game when you lose by 10 and down the stretch we’re fouling. We’re just trying to put everything together.”
On playing with just 6 players…
“We’ve been playing with six (players) for a while. It’s about getting your second wind. Coach (Fargas) is pretty good with calling timeouts according to how the momentum is swinging and how we’re looking. We get our breaks when needed. You just have to push mentally. It definitely has an effect, but that’s why recovery is essential. We have to really, really put in the time to take care of our bodies. That’s any team, ours just so happens to be less in numbers.”