Coming into Thursday night, senior forward Shanece McKinney said LSU needed something to wake itself from a four-game losing streak.
An awakening seemed to come in the form a second half surge Thursday night. But by then, it was too late to repair the damage done from a dreadful first half.
LSU (18-10, 7-8 Southeastern Conference) came back from down 21 points at halftime, but Tennessee (23-5, 12-3 SEC) made the plays and stops late to hold on for a dramatic 72-67 victory to hand the Lady Tigers their fifth consecutive loss on three LSU seniors’ last regular season game in the PMAC.
“[The game] showed a team that didn’t give up, showed a team that stayed together and obviously showed a team that was able to come back from adversity and potentially put themselves in position to win.” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell.
Tennessee controlled the first half from the first possession, quickly running out to a 12-2 lead. Fifty percent shooting from the field and 34 combined points from teammates Meighan Simmons and Cierra Burdick gave the Lady Volunteers a 42-21 lead at half.
LSU’s stars struggled to keep up in the first half, as senior forward Theresa Plaisance and senior guard Jeanne Kenney combined for just 13 points on 3-of-15 shooting. In the locker room at the break, Kenney had a moment with Plaisance that helped click the tandem back in gear.
“Jeanne knows me really well, so when she came up to me and basically told me, ‘This is our half. We are not going to go down like this.’” Plaisance said. “That’s what did it for me.”
The duo combined for 28 points in the second half, helping inspire one of the Lady Tigers’ most impressive runs of the season. The team took everything possession by possession, cutting the lead to single digits with 6:20 left and tying the game with a little more than three minutes to play.
A major reason for the turnaround was a concentration to take care of the ball. After committing 11 turnovers in the first half, LSU committed just one in the second.
High energy plays on defense pumped up the crowd and propelled the team throughout the comeback. Kenney said the emotion from players and the crowd made her proud to play the game.
After trading baskets for two minutes after LSU tied, the most important play came with just one minute left when Simmons made a 3-pointer to put the Lady Volunteers back up five. Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said the shot was risky but was a testament to the player Simmons is.
The Lady Tigers will have to transition quickly as they hit the road this weekend to take on Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Sunday afternoon. The Crimson Tide has displayed its share of highs and lows, dropping two games to Auburn while winning at Kentucky.
The Crimson Tide is led by junior guard Daisha Simmons, who leads the team in assists while also putting in 13.4 points and 5.1 rebounds. Caldwell said Simmons is one of many guards for Alabama who can shoot the ball very well.
More importantly the team will look at this game as a way to channel themselves as the Lady Tigers head into the postseason.
“This team has it in them,” Caldwell said. “They have a resiliency about themselves, they have a competitiveness about themselves, and they have a determination about themselves.”
Contact Tommy Romanach at [email protected]
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