The LSU women’s basketball team was unable to continue its recent run of victories, as the Lady Tigers lost in their Southeastern Conference home opener to the Texas A&M Aggies, 52-48 Thursday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The loss snaps a three game winning streak, and drops the Lady Tigers to the middle of the pack in the SEC standings. Coach Nikki Caldwell said Texas A&M did a good job of forcing defensive pressure throughout the game.
“Texas A&M came in here with a game plan …they executed their game plan better than ours,” Caldwell said. “Players made plays … when they needed to build up their momentum, they did it through their defensive pressure.”
The Lady Tigers held a 45-38 lead with just over five minutes left in the game with Texas A&M’s leading scorer, Courtney Williams, had already fouled out. But the Aggies found a way, going on a 9-0 run, culminating in a Courtney Walker jumper with 42 seconds left that gave the Aggies the lead for good.
LSU had the ball down two with thirteen seconds left, but they were unable to get a shot off as freshman guard Raigyne Moncrief turned the ball over. Walker would make two more free throws to seal the game.
Senior guard Jeanne Kenney was quick to admit mistakes on the final play, but said Moncrief should not be blamed for the loss.
“I actually think we were trying to be too unselfish,” Kenney said. “We should have gotten a shot up …It is a learning experience. We all lost, Raigyne didn’t lose the game for us.”
LSU was led by senior forward Therese Plaisance, who scored 16 points including a 6-8 performance from the free throw line. Plaisance was a major factor to a 14-0 run in the second half, scoring six points, three rebounds, one steal and one block during the run.
Texas A&M was led by Williams, who scored 17 points, including nine points in only nine minutes of play in the second half. Her seven rebounds and two steals also led the team.
But as Williams fouled out with 5:28 left in the game, it was the Aggies’ supporting cast that stepped up.
“For us to be able to come back and put our leading scorer here on the bench …these kids have the heart of gold,” A&M head coach Gary Blair said.
LSU led early in the first half, but fell into a scoring drought, scoring only four points for the final 9:33 of the half. Texas A&M would finish the half on a 13-4 run to lead, 24-20.
The Lady Tigers started the second half slow as well, falling behind to a 34-25 lead with a little over 13 minutes left. Then came the 14-0 run, which was done mostly through the free throw line, as the team attempted 13 free throws in a span of 4:40.
Caldwell said the gritty style of the run spoke volumes of how her team could come back.
LSU will take the court again Sunday afternoon, as they take on the Florida Gators at the PMAC at noon. As the season rolls on, Caldwell said competitive games like these will continue to come.
“It is a different level of competition in this conference, and we are going to have to move forward from this game,” Caldwell said. “We have a tough opponent coming in on Sunday, so there is no time for us to hold our head down. We have to focus and really come back together as a group.”
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Gallery • 9 Photos

Charles Champagne

LSU sophomore guard Danielle Ballard (32) attempts a lay-up Thursday, January 9, 2014 during the Tigers' 48-52 loss to Texas A&M.