For just the fourth time in history, LSU women’s basketball team exited Knoxville Sunday afternoon with an SEC road win over Tennessee in Thompson-Boling Arena.
The eighth-ranked Tigers built a 14-point halftime lead and held on in the final minutes for a 57-54 victory over the No. 16 Vols to end the regular season 25-4 overall and finish second in the SEC at 13-3 behind No. 1 nationally ranked South Carolina.
LSU now has a double-bye in this week’s SEC tournament in Nashville. The Tigers don’t play until Friday at 6 p.m. against an opponent to be determined by Wednesday’s and Thursday’s games.
Also, LSU is a lock for receiving one of the top 16 seeds in the NCAA tournament to host first and second round games starting March 16 and 17.
“A lot of good things lie ahead and I don’t know where this season will end,” LSU first-year head coach Kim Mulkey said. “I firmly believe when it does end, whoever beats us in the NCAA tournament will have to play their basketball.
“Think about this. We’ve had almost 30 games this year. Have we walked off the floor saying `Man, we stunk it up?' I haven’t had that feeling as a coach with this bunch in 29 basketball games.”
The Tigers played Sunday without redshirt junior starting guard Alexis Morris, who sprained MCL in her left knee early in Thursday’s home win over Alabama. Mulkey indicated Sunday she’ll likely not play Morris, who’s ranked in the top eight in the SEC in four stat categories including scoring (16.4), in the league tournament.
There’s no doubt LSU misses Morris. The Tigers’ last two offensive outputs – 58 vs. Alabama and 57 vs. Tennessee – are their lowest of the year.
But also, allowing the Crimson Tide 50 points and the Vols just 54 are two of LSU’s top three lowest points allowed totals of the season.
LSU’s defense (Tennessee shot a chilly 31.4 percent from the field) and rebounding (outrebounding the taller Vols 47-42) were huge factors in holding on for the win. It was just the fourth time the Vols lost the rebounding battle this season and a big reason was LSU guards Jailin Cherry and Khayla Pointer.
That duo combined for 26 points and 24 rebounds. Cherry had 14 points and 10 rebounds while Pointer added 12 points (despite hitting a mere 6 of 16 from the field) and a career-best 14 rebounds.
Senior guard Ryann Payne, playing her second straight game wearing a mask to replace the nose she broke last Wednesday in practice, had 7 points and 5 assists replacing Morris in the starting lineup.
LSU starting post player Autumn Newby scored 12 points and had 9 rebounds while her frontline mate Faustine Aifuwa stayed in foul trouble and had 6 points and 6 rebounds before fouling out with 1:43 left.
Reserve Tigers' center Hannah Gusters was clutch off the bench with 6 points, all in the game’s final 8:10.
Tennessee’s second half comeback was sparked by 6-6 center Tamari Key, who had 12 points including 10 of UT’s 14 third-quarter points when LSU was 1 of 14 from the field.
But despite the Tigers’ near collapse – Tennessee closed the game on a 13-1 run when LSU had 7 turnovers in its last 11 possessions – Pointer made three huge plays in the final four seconds.
First, she rebounded the missed shot of a potential game-tying layup by Key with four seconds left. After getting fouled a second later, Pointer made the first free throw and missed the second.
Tennessee rebounded and called time out immediately to advance the ball to the Vols’ end of the court where they could inbound with a chance for a game-tying 3-pointer.
But Pointer stepped in between two UT players, swiped the inbounds pass with one second left and joyously threw the ball high in the air as the game-ending horn sounded.
“It’s not how you want your Senior Day to end,” said Tennessee coach Kellie Harper, whose team (22-7, 10-5 SEC) enters the league tourney as the No. 3 seed. “We were back on our heels in the first quarter and that’s where the difference in the game was.
“I’m proud of the way we came back and gave ourselves a chance. But it was one of those games where you’ve got to be better for 40 minutes.”
