No. 8 LSU defeated the University of New Orleans, 73-46, in the PMAC on Sunday, returning home after seven consecutive road games since Nov. 21.
LSU (10-3) was coming off a 67-56 loss Friday to Middle Tennessee State, which was the Lady Tigers’ first game without injured senior center Sylvia Fowles. Fowles underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Dec. 21 to repair a torn lateral meniscus and is expected to miss several weeks of play.
LSU coach Van Chancellor said he was pleased with his team’s offensive production against UNO without Fowles, whom he labeled “the greatest security blanket.”
“We don’t mention that we don’t have her,” Chancellor said. “We just play.”
LSU jumped out to an early 13-2 lead within the first four minutes of play and never relinquished the lead, entering the half with a 40-24 advantage. The Lady Tigers tied a school record by recording just five turnovers while forcing 31. UNO coach Amy Champion said this “extremely disappointing” statistic likely determined the game’s outcome.
“Sometimes it’s really hard for young kids to understand how important it is to value the ball every possession when you face a team like this,” she said.
Senior guard Quianna Chaney led LSU with 14 points while senior guard RaShonta LeBlanc added 12. Junior forward Kristen Morris recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“We know each other’s chemistry,” said Chaney, who is just 13 points away from the 1,000 career point mark. “It doesn’t matter what [line-up] we put out there.”
Junior center Mesha Williams started instead of Fowles, replacing sophomore guard Allison Hightower who started against Middle Tennessee. Williams said the change was made because of UNO’s increased post presence.
“I’m confident in playing a lot of minutes,” said Williams, who scored nine points in 17 minutes of play. “I’ve got big shoes to fill. I’m just trying to do my part.”
Senior guard Le’Della English led UNO with 15 points in 36 minutes of playing time. Reserve senior forward Andrea Williams added 10 points for the Lady Privateers.
The Lady Tigers will once again take to the road to face Florida State on Jan. 4.
—-Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]