After an abysmal start for both LSU and Mississippi State on Thursday night in the PMAC, senior forward Shanece McKinney led the charge after the half to power the Lady Tigers to a 65-56 victory.
LSU (17-4, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) struggled in the first half of recent SEC contests, forcing them to claw back after halftime. The trend continued as the Lady Tigers had trouble handling the ball early and often.
With 11:43 remaining in the first half, LSU and MSU (13-7, 2-6 SEC) combined for 15 turnovers – nine by the Lady Tigers – and the Bulldogs shot only 3-of-12 from the field.
When the buzzer finally sounded for the end of the first half, the teams combined for 25 turnovers, 33 percent shooting from the field and 19 percent from 3-point range.
LSU coach Nikki Caldwell had to motivate her squad in the locker room to climb out of a 26-21 halftime deficit.
“It was definitely the sense of, ‘We’ve been here before, this is ridiculous, and when are we going to pull ourselves up and come out fighting from the beginning?’” senior guard Jeanne Kenney said. “Like coach Nikki said in the locker room, we know we have fight, but when are we going to put together 40 minutes?”
Whatever Caldwell told them, it worked.
Led by McKinney and freshman guard Raigyne Moncrief, the Lady Tigers exploded out of the locker room to obtain a 33-31 lead with 14:14 remaining in the second half.
LSU never looked back.
McKinney found herself the target of a number of Lady Tiger passes, and what resulted was a 15-point second half. She finished with a perfect performance after shooting 7-of-7 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
The senior scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, giving LSU a seven-point lead with 10:22 remaining in the contest.
“I just focused on making all of my layups,” McKinney said. “That was a big thing that we’ve been working on in practice. I feel like coach Nikki has always emphasized for me that I need to be a great offensive rebounder, and tonight [I] just kind of flourished and went with it.”
While McKinney posted up under the glass, Moncrief used her speed and athleticism to become a force while driving to the basket. After scoring six points in the first half, the freshman finished with 17 total points.
LSU improved its shooting as a whole after halftime, turning a 36 percent first half field goal percentage into 65 percent in the second half.
When the Lady Tigers travel to No. 13 Kentucky (16-5, 4-4 SEC) on Sunday, a sluggish start could be LSU’s downside.
It will be LSU’s fourth road contest against a ranked opponent, and the Lady Tigers will look to build off the momentum generated in the second half of Thursday’s game.
Caldwell said she knows her squad can handle playing under pressure on the road.
“We talk about the fact that we’ve been in this situation where we’ve had to go into a hostile environment, and we won,” Caldwell said. “We did it because first and foremost, we put family first, and we were very cohesive and very together. Those are the things that make the difference in whether you can go into Kentucky [and win].”
“It was definitely the sense of, ‘We’ve been here before, this is ridiculous, and when are we going to pull ourselves up and come out fighting from the beginning?’”

Gallery • 12 Photos

Richard Redmann

LSU freshman guard Raigyne Moncrief (11) attempts to perform a lay up during the Lady Tigers' 65-56 victory against Mississippi State in the PMAC.