LSU beats A&M again, lifts status
The LSU women’s basketball team has doubly fortified its NCAA Tournament resume in less than a week.
Two big gulps of victory over Texas A&M will do that.
LSU (17-12) jumped out to a 19-point lead in Friday afternoon’s SEC Tournament quarterfinal game against 18th-ranked Texas A&M and held on to beat the Aggies 71-65 in front of an announced session crowd of 4,630 at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.
LSU, the tournament’s No. 4 seed, will play top seed South Carolina — the No. 3 team in The Associated Press poll — at 4 p.m. today in the semifinals.
Playing South Carolina is a big challenge, but it’s a much better situation for the Tigers than what they faced heading into last Sunday’s game against then 12th-ranked A&M in Baton Rouge.
LSU was coming off losses at Arkansas (63-41 on Feb. 22) and at Ole Miss (5857 on Feb. 26) and was limping into the A&M matchup at 15-12.
A fast start got the Tigers rolling in their 80-63 rout Sunday, and LSU used the same formula Friday against the Aggies.
“It’s a 40-minute basketball game,” LSU Coach Nikki Caldwell said. “We have to give ourselves a shot. Today we put together a 40-minute basketball game.”
Danielle Ballard scored 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Tigers, who led 24-5 midway through the first half. Raigyne Moncrief had 14 points and Dashawn Harden added 10.
Caldwell said she knows the Tigers are in for a difficult task against the Gamecocks and Tiffany Mitchell, the SEC’s player of the year. The teams have met once this season, with LSU losing 86-62 on Feb. 12 in Columbia, S.C.
“They’re a very deep team,” Caldwell said. “You have to be aware where Mitchell is. … Our team defense has got to be there. It has to be done by committee.”
LSU led 44-31 at halftime Friday, but 28 percent shooting by the Tigers in the second half allowed the Aggies to get as close as 63-60 with 1:32 left.
It was a basket by Courtney Williams, who led the Aggies (23-9) with 19 points, that got Texas A&M to its smallest deficit since early in the first half.
LSU turned over the ball on the ensuing inbound pass, but Texas A&M couldn’t take advantage. Curtyce Knox (12 points) missed a jumper and Moncrief scored to extend LSU’s lead to 65-60 with 1:13 left. Achiri Ade missed her shot attempt on A&M’s next possession and then fouled Ballard, who made two free throws for a 67-60 lead.
Williams appeared to make a three-pointer with 32.5 seconds left, but her right foot was on the left wing arc so the officials ruled the play a two-pointer, making it 67-62.
Ballard made two free throws to put LSU up seven, then Ade’s three-pointer cut the lead to 69-65 with 10.1 seconds left. But LSU’s Anne Pedersen sealed the victory for the Tigers with two free throws.
Texas A&M Coach Gary Blair said he was proud of his team’s second-half effort, but the slow start was too much for the Aggies to overcome.
“It’s like going into a horse race or a track meet,” Blair said. “You’re running long and you’re 40 yards behind. You catch up to them and they look over there and say, ‘Is that the best you’ve got?’ Then they take off just a little bit more because they’ve got a little bit more in the tank.”
LSU dominated the first 12 minutes. Ballard scored six of LSU’s first 13 points and Harden’s three-pointer gave the Tigers a 13-0 lead in the first 3:43. LSU led 24-5 at the 11:40 mark.
Blair said he was disappointed his team won’t be playing in a conference tournament semifinal for the first time since 2005, but he said he thinks the Aggies will be a No. 6 seed in the 64-team NCAA Tournament field, which will be announced March 16.
“LSU has outplayed us twice in six days,” Blair said. “We’ll put things in place.”