Sunday’s matchup between No. 8 LSU and No. 21 Georgia was billed as an interior battle between LSU All-American senior center Sylvia Fowles and Georgia All-American senior forward Tasha Humphrey. But with the two teams in a close second-half battle, senior guards Quianna Chaney and RaShonta LeBlanc stole the show and scored 28 combined points to lead LSU to a 63-57 win. “I thought this was the perfect game for us,” said LSU coach Van Chancellor. “We need to get better. We played seven games in a row that were not this close. It wasn’t just a close game, but it was a close game against a really good team.” LSU (20-3, 9-0) led 45-28 with just more than 15 minutes to play in the second half. Fowles scored four of her game-high 19 points in the opening possessions of the half while also grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds. The Miami native’s 73rd double-double moved her within four of the all-time Southeastern Conference record held by former Georgia post player Janet Harris. The Lady Bulldogs (17-7, 4-5) went on a 22-9 run to cut the LSU lead to 54-50 with seven minutes to play. Humphrey and sophomore guard Ashley Houts scored a combined 16 second-half points to help Georgia back into the game. Humphrey finished the game with 17 points and 11 rebounds, taking advantage of LSU senior forward Ashley Thomas’ foul trouble. Fowles left the game with 4:28 to play in the game after tweaking her right knee but returned to the game minutes later and played without a limp. “It just gave out on me,” Fowles said. “It’s nothing that I’m not used to. It hurts me for a second, then I’m all right.” LeBlanc answered Georgia’s run with four of her 14 points to help seal the victory for LSU. The Port Arthur, Texas native said Georgia’s defensive attention in the paint allowed her to shoot freely. “I just came out and played,” LeBlanc said. “My shots were falling, and [Chancellor] kept running the same plays because they were working. I just wanted to take my shots when they were open.” Georgia coach Andy Landers said the Lady Bulldogs played well enough in the second half to win but did not make enough hustle plays to compete down the stretch. “[LSU] made plays when they needed to make plays,” Landers said. “I think they deserved to win. We have a young basketball team that turns the ball over. We did it in the first half, and it cost us.” Fowles began the game strong for LSU, scoring on consecutive possessions to give the Lady Tigers an early 4-0 advantage. Thomas started the game guarding Humphrey before picking up her second foul with 10:06 to play in the first half. While she was on the floor, Thomas limited the Lady Bulldogs’ senior to just two points in the first 10 minutes of play, helping LSU push its lead to 17-8 at the midway point of the first half. Humphrey attacked the LSU defense the final 10 minutes of the first half, scoring nine of her 11 first-half points with Thomas out of the game to cut the LSU lead to 22-17 with six minutes to play. Fowles and Chaney closed the half strong, scoring 13 of the Lady Tigers’ final 15 first-half points to spark a 13-7 run, giving LSU a 37-24 halftime advantage.
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