TigerBait.com - Lady Tigers beat Lady Vols

February 27, 2009

William Weathers
TigerBait.com Managing Editor

The torment that LSU women's basketball coach Van Chancellor lived with for the 10 months subsided ever so slightly.

With an opportunity to advance the LSU program to its first NCAA championship game appearance in Tampa, Fla. last April, Chancellor watched Alexis Hornbuckle rebound a missed shot at the buzzer to send Tennessee to the title game instead.

Although the stakes were significantly watered down this time around the final-game scenario was eerily similar with LSU clinging to a one-point lead and Tennessee with the ball and 7.9 seconds to play.

However, senior Kristen Morris forced a jump ball with three-tenths of a second and the Lady Tigers successfully inbounded the ball to secure a 63-61 Southeastern Conference victory Thursday over the No. 18 Lady Volunteers before a crowd of 6,035 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

"I've lived a year with that loss," Chancellor said of LSU's 47-46 national semifinal setback.

Rewind to April of 2008 when point guard Erica White gave LSU a 46-45 lead only to watch All-American Candace Parker drive the length of the floor before passing to Nicky Anosike a lay-up attempt. Anosike's miss was rebounded by Hornbuckle whose only basket of the game drove a stake through the collective hearts of the Lady Tigers.

"It reminded us a little bit about the last scenario," LSU freshman LaSondra Barrett, who said she watched last year's NCAA tournament game at home. "It's a great win and then to beat Tennessee is even better."

The victory equaled LSU's season-high four-game win streak and enabled the Lady Tigers (16-9, 9-4 in SEC) to earn a first-round bye in the league's postseason tournament March 5-8 in North Little Rock, Ark.

"For this team to clinch a bye in the SEC tournament is unbelievable," Chancellor said.
Sophomore Katherine Graham snapped a 61-61 tie with a pair of free throws with 7.9 seconds left after getting fouled on a drive to the basket, and following a pair of Tennessee timeouts, LSU's defense never allowed the Lady Vols to even get a shot off.

Shekinna Stricklen drove to the wing but was unable to find her first option -- leading scorer Angie Bjorkland. She passed inside to Glory Johnson who turned around and was tied up by Morris, who was honored before the game as LSU's lone senior.

Before the two teams could exchange postgame handshakes officials reviewed a courtside monitor to determine whether there was any time remaining. Three-tenths of a second was put back on the clock for the Lady Tigers who had possession and simply inbounded the ball with Morris finding Barrett to signal the final horn.

"Give credit to LSU," Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt said. "I thought they played with tremendous confidence, played very aggressive. Van's done a great job with a young basketball team and it appears that he's done a much better job than I have."

The all-too-familiar feeling of another Tennessee (19-9, 8-5) comeback against the LSU women's basketball team had started sinking in. An 18-point first half lead was long gone and so was the Lady Tigers leading scorer Allison Hightower who could only watch helplessly from afar with painful leg cramps that sidelined her the final nine minutes of play.

"We effectively lost out best player with 12:09 to go," Chancellor said of Hightower, who scored all 14 of her points in the first half. "We had to find a way to beat a good team with a good coach."

Stricklen's 3-pointer from the left wing with 8:32 remaining not only capped a furious comeback with an 18-6 run but also enabled Tennessee to pull even at 51-all ? the first tie since the 17:09 mark in the first half.

Stricklen and Bjorkland combined for 16 of the 18 points in the run for the Lady Vols, who made 13 of their first 17 shots (76 percent) of the second half.

"We just knew if we stayed in it and just kept our heads, and kept a lead, we would be in the game and finish it off," Barrett said.

Even in the face of Tennessee's second-half rush LSU, without the steadying presence of Hightower, didn't waver down the stretch.
LSU, which shot 47 percent in the final 20 minutes, also never relinquished their lead in a game they never trailed. Despite losing a pair of five-point leads in the last five minutes of play the Lady Tigers answered with key baskets late in the shot clock from both Barrett and Graham.

With Hightower receiving ice treatments, riding a stationary bike and trying to loosen up on the sideline her teammates were the ones making the critical plays with Barrett scoring 14 of her team-high 18 points in the second half, while Graham added 12.

But none were bigger than the final two when point guard Latear Eason rebounded Morris' miss with 33 seconds to play and handed it to Graham who wound down the clock before beginning her drive against Bjorkland, who was whistled for a block near the baseline.
"I was just hoping to make the two free throws," said Graham, who was 4-of-4 at the line. "I knew it was a one and one so I knew I needed to make the first one. I was just given an opportunity to help my team win and I just made the free throws."

Hightower and Andrea Kelly combined for 12 of LSU's 16 points during a 16-3 run over the last five minutes of the first half gave the Lady Tigers their largest advantage of 35-17 before settling for a 35-20 halftime lead.

LSU bolted to a 14-2 surge in the opening eight minutes of play ? a sequence fueled by 7-of-8 shooting and ta defense that forced 15 turnovers that led to a 17-2 advantage in points scored off turnovers.

Morris played a pivotal role in that uprising with four points, blocked two shots and had two steals. It was her play at both ends of the floor ? first blocking Alex Fuller's shot underneath the goal ? and getting in position for a turnaround 10-footer from the lane to cap a period of 12 unanswered points.

While LSU's pace tapered somewhat Tennessee never got any closer than 21-14 with 5:26 showing before halftime.

That's when Hightower knocked down a 17-footer from the top of the key and Kelly, who entered the game for the first time two minutes before, canned back-to-back 3-pointers to increase LSU's lead to 29-14 with 3:45 left.

"We just came together," Barrett said. "One of our players was down. Coach kind of got after me in a timeout to make some shots. I tried to up my game a little bit and then the whole team came together collectively. It was a team effort."

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