The LSU women’s basketball team exited the NCAA Tournament early after its 73-64 loss to the sixth-seeded University of South Florida, which played on its home floor in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday.
LSU (17-14, 10-6 Southeastern Conference) had not lost an opening game in the tournament since 1991, ending its 16-game opening-round winning streak. Though it was a disappointing defeat for the Lady Tigers, it obscured the consistent play of the backcourt.
Junior Danielle Ballard, senior DaShawn Harden and sophomore Raigyne Moncrief carried the team and combined to score 46 of the team’s 64 points. The trio of guards also reeled in half of the team’s 42 rebounds.
In a postgame news release, LSU coach Nikki Caldwell gave USF (27-7, 15-3 American Athletic Conference) credit where it was due, but said her team’s effort made up for its lack of size.
“A lot of credit to USF. They really did a nice job of attacking the rim,” Caldwell said. “I thought that was key. A key component in tonight’s game was who was going to keep who off the boards. I’m very proud of my young team. We’re not one of the biggest teams in our conference or in the country, but we play with a lot of heart and we really did a nice job at times of playing as a unit.”
Ballard, who was named First Team All-SEC and to the All-SEC Defensive Team , scored 17, her 14th double-digit performance this season and the fifth consecutive in the NCAA Tournament. Moncrief registered her fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Moncrief said the Lady Tigers struggled against USF’s fast pace and consistent rhythm.
“They just outhustled us in the first half,” Moncrief said in the news release. “They got on the boards and pushed the tempo. Like DaShawn said, they executed their offense and executed their defense better than us. I think we did come at them pretty good starting the second half.”
The Lady Tiger frontcourt got itself in foul trouble early, which could have been the early nails in the LSU coffin. The Bulls converted on 16 of their 20 free throws in the first half, while senior forward Sheila Boykin, junior forward Anne Pedersen and junior forward Akilah Bethel all had two fouls before the halfway point of the first period.
The need for LSU to put out a small lineup early allowed USF to be aggressive on the boards and establish the pace of the game. It resulted in the Bulls’ willingness to go strong to the basket and create contact, giving them 22 points from the free throw line compared with LSU’s nine.
Regardless of the loss, Harden pointed out the Lady Tigers’ ability to defy the odds all season.
“We weren’t expected to make the tournament or anything,” Harden said in the news release. “As a competitor I expect to win. As a whole it was a pretty big accomplishment for us. We were picked to finish last in the SEC and we finished fourth. We made the NCAA Tournament and we weren’t expected to make it at all this year.”
You can reach Stanton Vignes on Twitter at @StanVignes_TDR