It wasn’t pretty, and it didn’t do much to assuage some of the Lady Tigers’ doubts, but LSU is officially off the schneid.
LSU (14-6) outlasted East Tennessee State (5-15), 71-68, in overtime Tuesday, ending a three-game losing streak, thanks to the late-game heroics of seldom-used senior forward Swayze Black.
With 10 seconds remaining in regulation and LSU down by two points, Black collected three offensive rebounds and connected on a buzzer-beater to send the game into overtime.
“Going out, we told her, ‘Swayze, do what you do best,’ and she did,” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell. “She came up huge for us. She made a big-time play to allow us to survive and advance into overtime.”
LSU finally managed to pull away from East Tennessee State in the extra period, outscoring the Lady Bucs, 8-5, to collect its 14th win this season.
Coming into the game, Black had the lowest scoring average on the team at 1.6 points per game, but hit three of four shots Tuesday, finishing with six points and seven rebounds.
The Lady Tigers also saw a career-best effort from junior guard Bianca Lutley, who scored 16 points in her first start this season.
“[Lutley] did what she needed to do with her minutes,” Caldwell said. “Offensively, she gave us that threat that we needed.”
Senior forward LaSondra Barrett came alive offensively in the second half, finishing with a season-high 20 points.
The Lady Tigers looked like they were still feeling the effects from their three-game swoon in the first half, as they entered the locker room at half time down, 33-24.
The biggest problem for LSU continued to be its sloppy offensive play, as it turned the ball over 13 times in the half.
“We’re going to be plagued with [turnovers],” Caldwell said. “We have all year. We’ve got to be better.”
The Lady Bucs took advantage of LSU’s carelessness by scoring 16 points off turnovers in the first half.
Without guards Jeanne Kenney, out with a concussion, and Destini Hughes, absent due to a knee injury, for the second consecutive game, the Lady Tigers were forced to start four forwards.
Caldwell made some adjustments to her starting lineup, starting Lutley over junior guard Adrienne Webb.
The Lady Bucs led by as many as 12 points early in the first half, while the Lady Tigers struggled to find their touch from the field.
LSU shot just 38.5 percent in the first half, making 10-of-26 shots, while East Tennessee State connected on six 3-point shots.
But the Lady Tigers appeared to shake off the doldrums early in the second half, as they raced out to a 17-4 run coming out of the break to take a 41-37 lead with 15:29 remaining.
It was the Lady Tigers’ first lead since the 18:57 mark of the first half.
Despite letting the Lady Bucs retake the lead several times in the second half, LSU managed to outscore them 39-30 in the second half to force overtime.
“We’re going to take this game and know why we got into this situation, and also learn how to utilize this if we’re ever in [this situation] again,” Caldwell said.
LSU will return to Tennessee on Sunday to resume Southeastern Conference play against Vanderbilt in Nashville.
 
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