Lady Tigers at .500; defeat Alabama 78-41

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By Stephanie Kraft

The Lady Tigers traveled to Alabama last weekend understanding very well what was at stake. Having dropped four out of their previous five games, LSU needed a win against Alabama to return to .500 in SEC play.

LSU head coach Van Chancellor said before the trip, "Every game and every moment in every game is important from here on out. The way we are playing right now, our backs are against the wall. Let's see if we are up for the challenge ahead and what we are made of."

The 18th ranked (9th in SEC) Lady Tigers stepped up and proved they were up for the Crimson Tide (12th SEC). The Lady Tigers dominated the Tide 78-41 last Sunday afternoon in their 11th consecutive defeat of Alabama. With the loss Alabama (9-13, 1-8) dropped its third straight and lost for the eighth time in the past nine games.

LSU (15-5, 4-4 SEC) hit 8-of-18 from 3-point range and finished 46.3 percent from the floor. The eight threes were the most by LSU since making 10 in the season-opener against Centenary.

Senior Allison Hightower set a career-high for points scored in an SEC game, scoring 29 points, which included a career-high six three-pointers. Scoring 19 points in the first half, Hightower finished 11-of-18 from the floor for the game.

"I've struggled shooting the ball lately, but I came out today and knocked down some open shots," Hightower said. "This was an important win for us."

Sophomore forward LaSondra Barrett reached double digits for the eighth straight game with 13 points and 11 rebounds. This is Barrett's fourth double-double of the season. Freshman guard Adrienne Webb, an Alabama native, knocked down 11 points in her best SEC performance of the season.

LSU played with intensity that they have lacked in recent games, and opened the game with an 11-0 run in the first three minutes of the game. Courtney Jones and Barrett converted layups and Hightower nailed back-to-back 3-pointers. Alabama senior guard Dedrea Magee's got the Tide's first points with a three-pointer with 16:51 on the clock. Hightower scored 12 of LSU's first 16 points culminating with another 3-pointer at the 15:00 mark.

Katherine Graham's two free throws extended the LSU lead to double-digits, 22-12. Hightower closed out the half with seven of LSU's final nine points, including her fourth 3-pointer with 23 seconds on the clock. The Lady Tigers held their largest lead, 33-16, into the locker room.

The Lady Tigers used separate 19-9 and 13-4 runs over the course of the second half to keep Alabama at bay.

After falling behind 52-25 at the 14:02 mark, Alabama could get no closer than 24 the rest of the way as the Lady Tigers slowly but surely increased the lead to 38 over the course of the remainder of the second half.

Hightower continued her stellar play into the second half with another 3-pointer at the 12:11 mark in the second half to give LSU a 57-28 advantage. She connected for her final points on a jumper with 7:51 to play before being lifted from the game with the Lady Tigers comfortably ahead.

Webb knocked down LSU's eighth from beyond the arc that extended the margin to 35 points. Taylor Turnbow's jumper gave the Lady Tigers their largest lead, 78-40, with 1:03 to go. LSU outscored the Tide, 45-25, in the final period.

Defensively, the Lady Tigers held Alabama to 33.3 percent for the game while dominating the boards, 41-29.

"This was a good win for our confidence, but we have to keep playing and get ready for Georgia on Thursday", Chancellor said.

The Lady Tigers will need an equally dominating performance to have success against the No.9 Lady Bulldogs Thursday.

"This was a good win for our confidence, but we have to keep playing and get ready for Georgia on Thursday", Chancellor said.

LSU travels to No. 9 Georgia for a 6 p.m. CST Thursday tip. The game will be televised live by College Sports Southeast (CSS) and carried by Cox Sports Television (CST) affiliates.

Originally Published: Issue 863 - February 3, 2010

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