A sold-out Pete Maravich Assembly Center and coach Kim Mulkey roared in unison as LSU extended and preserved its lead over and over again.

The No. 11 Lady Tigers (23-4, 11-3) battled through offensive struggles, foul trouble and, ultimately, No. 17 Florida (20-7, 10-4) on Sunday to secure a 66-61 victory and sole possession of second place in the SEC standings.

Autumn Newby completed a three-point play prior to the media timeout midway through the fourth quarter to break a 50-50 tie.

And Faustine Aifuwa swatted a Lady Gators shot in the lane out of the break, then added a basket of her own on the other end to claim the 55-50 advantage.

The veteran post duo helped LSU set a physical, enthusiastic and stingy tone early and snatch final control with pivotal plays late.

Florida continued to battle until its final, inconsequential heave clanked off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

The Lady Gators even pulled back within two points three more times.

But another Newby putback, two more Aifuwa blocked shots and 8-for-10 free-throw shooting by senior guard Alexis Morris in the final minutes kept the advantage in purple-and-gold favor.

Ten-for-12 foul-shooting overall helped Morris lead the Lady Tigers with 20 points on a tough shooting day overall.

LSU finished just 22-for-66 (33.3 percent) from the field and 0-for-8 from beyond the arc.

But their post players gave Florida fits early and often en route to victory.

Newby had 13 points, eight rebounds, two steals, one blocked shot and one assists.

Aifuwa scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked a season-high five shots.

And sophomore Hannah Gusters came off the bench for six points, two rebounds and a timely blocked shot of her own.

Khayla Pointer finished with seven points and seven rebounds — as the guards joined in crashing the boards — as well as three assists and two steals.

Fellow senior guard Jailin Cherry had six points and eight rebounds, and Morris added six rebounds and two assists to her scoring punch.

The Lady Tigers led by as many as seven points in the first quarter before a five-minute scoring drought allowed Florida to claim its first lead, 26-25, heading into halftime.

Newby, Aifuwa, Cherry and Pointer each headed to the bench with their third personal fouls during LSU's third-quarter run.

But the Lady Tigers managed to regain a 44-40 edge entering the final period and answer any and every challenge the Lady Gators fired their way.

Florida finished 23-for-62 (37.1 percent) from the field, 4-for-18 (22.2 percent) from beyond the arc and 11-for-22 from the foul line.

And LSU turned 15 of its guests' turnovers into a 16-2 advantage in points of takeaways.

The showdown in Baton Rouge continued a day of high-profile women's basketball matchups headlined and tipped off by No. 1 South Carolina (25-1, 13-1) hosting No. 12 Tennessee (21-6, 10-4).

The top-ranked Lady Gamecocks' 67-53 victory paved the way for the Lady Tigers to separate themselves in the conference standings from the Lady Gators and Lady Volunteers.

LSU hosts Alabama (13-11, 4-9) at 7 p.m. Thursday before finishing the regular season at Tennessee at 1 p.m. next Sunday.