COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Despite a comeback effort in the third quarter, the LSU women’s basketball team dropped a 68-54 decision to the 12th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies here at Reed Arena in a Play 4Kay game Thursday evening in front of a crowd of 4,797 fans.
Sophomore Jenna Deemer and senior Ann Jones were back in the lineup for tonight’s game after missing a majority of SEC action. Deemer missed nine games with an illness, while Jones missed seven games with an ankle injury. Without Deemer and Jones, the Lady Tigers were down to just seven scholarship players available for game action. Deemer hit her first shot attempt, a three-pointer, with 4:23 left in the first quarter. LSU was 5-of-33 on treys with Deemer on the sidelines. Deemer finished the game with nine points and two steals. Jones scored two points on free throws and pulled down just one rebound.
Unlike in the first meeting between the two squads when Texas A&M outscored LSU, 23-7, in the third quarter, the Lady Tigers won the third, 19-14, and were down by just five points, 48-43, heading into the fourth period. Jenna Deemer hit a quick jumper to put the game within three points, 48-45, early in the fourth but A&M scored five unanswered points to jump ahead, 53-45. The three points was as close as LSU would get and A&M ultimately took a 15-point lead, 66-51, with a minute and a half left in the game before the eventual, 68-54 victory.
Junior Rina Hill led the Lady Tigers with 14 points for her fifth double-digit scoring effort in the last seven games. She was 6-of-13 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. Alexis Hyder also scored in double figures with 13 points off a 5-of-11 effort from the field and a 3-of-4 showing from the charity stripe. Akilah Bethel, who led the Lady Tigers with 10 rebounds, also chipped in nine points. It was just the second time this season she has registered 10 or more boards. Anne Pedersen posted five points while Jasmine Rhodes chipped in two points.
Texas A&M dominated the boards, 40-26, and scored 18 points off 13 LSU turnovers. LSU scored 22 to A&M’s 20 points in the paint and held the 17-16 advantage in second chance scoring. The Lady Tigers were 21-of-53 (39.6 percent) from the field and 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) from the free-throw line. LSU tallied 11 assists and three steals. The Aggies were 23-of-52 (44.2 percent) from the field, including a 3-of-10 showing from beyond the arc. Texas A&M hit 19 of 28 free-throw attempts.
Courtney Williams led the Aggies with 17 points and six rebounds. Courtney Walker and Chelsea Jennings also had double-digit scoring efforts with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Jordan Jones had nine of A&M’s 15 assists in the game. Anriel Howard and Walker paced A&M with seven rebounds apiece.
The Lady Tigers went into the locker room down by 10 at the half. Rina Hill led LSU in the first half with eight points. Hyder had seven points and just two rebounds at the break. Texas A&M had just a three-point lead, 14-11, after the first quarter but used a 7-2 run at the start of the second quarter to push the lead to eight points. LSU was in foul trouble for much of the first half. In the final two minutes of the second quarter, Shanice Norton and Hyder were whistled for their third fouls within 10 seconds of each other. The Lady Tigers shot 39 percent (10-26) from the field, while the Aggies were 10-of-15 (40 percent) from the field. The Aggies did drop in three treys and were 11-of-18 from the free-throw line. LSU hit three of its four free-throw attempts.
The Lady Tigers host Tennessee on Sunday at 1 p.m. in a game that will be televised by ESPNU. Tennessee is ranked 24th by the Associated Press and fell out of the USA Today Coaches poll this week. As part of its Play 4Kay “Pink” game, there will be several promotions and special events to raise awareness for breast cancer and all other cancers that affect women. A reception for season ticket holders and cancer survivors will be held in the L Club at the PMAC from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. In addition, there will be a parade of survivors held at halftime. For more information, contact Jen Chow, assistant director of marketing, at jchow@lsu.edu.
Fans wearing pink to the PMAC will receive a $2 general admission ticket to the game (walk-up only). The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a women’s basketball pink t-shirt and a pink pom-pom. This game is also part of the “Deal of the Week” promotion and fans can purchase $2 general admission tickets in advance from lsutix.net with the promo code “DOTW.”
The Lady Tigers will face No. 22 Florida at home (Feb. 25) and No. 3 South Carolina on the road (Feb. 28) in the final week of conference action. The USC-LSU game will be carried by ESPNU and will be played at 1 p.m. CT as announced by the network earlier this week.