After another low-scoring first half, the LSU women’s basketball team fought in the second half, scoring 43 points including 22 from inside the paint.
But, like so many Lady Tigers’ road games this season, the second half push came up just short.
LSU (18-6, 7-4 Southeastern Conference) wasted an inspired performance from sophomore guard Danielle Ballard, as scoring droughts in the first half and 21 fouls in the second half helped contribute to a 72-67 loss to Texas A&M (18-6, 8-2 SEC).
“The game, when you go back and watch it and see the flow of the game, it became very choppy and there was no rhythm,” said coach Nikki Caldwell.
The Lady Tigers kept the game close throughout, but were never able to get a stop defensively as Texas A&M led the second half wire to wire. LSU cut the lead to one with 1:25 left, but a 4-0 run by the Aggies put the game away.
LSU got ahead early in the first half, as two 3-pointers from senior guard Jeanne Kenney and 16 points in the paint gave the Lady Tigers a 24-17 lead through the first 14:30 of the game. But LSU failed to score in the remaining five minutes of the half.
Their performance Sunday marked the third time in four games LSU has failed to score 30 points in the first half.
Ballard led the Lady Tigers in nearly every statistical category, putting up 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Ballard scored 16 points in the second half and eight of the Lady Tigers’ final 12 points of the game.
“I thought Ballard did a nice job of being very aggressive and looking to be that scorer for us,” Caldwell said.
The Lady Tigers will get a week to regroup before their next game, as they take on SEC leader South Carolina on Sunday afternoon at the PMAC. Caldwell said the team will spend that time looking at themselves as a team before they play one of their toughest games of the year.
“We will watch this game, and we will own up to it,” Caldwell said. “We will own up to our individual performances which obviously results in our team. But I think the one thing this group is capable of doing is their ability to bounce back from a loss.”