Florida exposed it, LSU coach Pokey Chatman recognized it but Tennessee still took advantage of it.
The Lady Vols exploited LSU’s recent inability to defend the three-point shot in their 63-62 win in the Southeastern Conference championship game Sunday in Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Ark.
Tennessee, who won their 12th SEC tournament championship, shot 53 percent from the three-point arc while shooting just 35 percent overall from the floor.
LSU (27-3) seemed to be in control late with 49 seconds remaining after senior forward Seimone Augustus converted a layup after a backdoor pass from sophomore guard Erica White to put LSU up by four.
But Tennessee (28-4) senior guard Shanna Zolman answered with Tennessee’s 10th three-point basket of the game to pull the Lady Vols to within one point with 39 seconds left to play.
“They put everybody on the baseline and let Candace [Parker] have the ball up top,” said LSU assistant coach Christy Sides in a radio interview after the game. “Instead of staying with our men, we tried to maybe help in like Candace was going to take it to the basket, and Zolman was left wide open for a three.”
After Zolman’s basket, the Lady Vols fouled White on LSU’s ensuing in-bounds pass. White could not convert the first shot of her one-and-one opportunity, and Tennessee got the rebound.
“We missed free throws late,” Sides said. “You’ve got to knock down free throws down at the end of a game to seal people away [and] take any hope that they might have of coming back and winning.”
SEC Freshman of the Year and tournament MVP Candace Parker then drained the game-winning shot from the left elbow with 17 seconds remaining.
“In the closing seconds, Coach [Summitt] told me to dribble out a little bit of time, and then run our isolation play and go one-on-one,” Parker said in a news conference after the game. “I knew I had the height advantage over her. I just took it and shot over her. Fortunately it went in.”
Parker finished with 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the floor.
Senior forward Seimone Augustus had a game-high 24 points but missed 13 shots including a potential game-winning jumper with 11 seconds remaining in the game.
“Seimone came to the sideline with the look in her eye [and] she wanted the ball,” Sides said. “We were going to give it to her and she got it and had the opportunity to make something happen, and it just didn’t fall for us tonight.”
In the regular season meeting in Knoxville, Tenn., LSU had outrebounded the Lady Vols, 41-36, but could not repeat that performance Sunday. Tennessee outrebounded LSU 40-31, and 18-9 on the offensive glass.
“We just have to win the big ones,” Sides said. “You do that on the boards, and you do that in the paint.” Tennessee forward Sidney Spencer led the Lady Vols in scoring with 21 points and five three-pointers. She had 16 first-half points and hit 4-of-4 shots from behind the three-point arc.
Tennessee shot just 33 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes but hit 6-of-10 three-pointers and outrebounded LSU, 21-17.
The Lady Tigers made their first offensive move of the game with 12:30 left in the half. With Tennessee leading 15-14, LSU went on an 8-0 run.
But Tennessee outscored LSU 11-3 over the final 5:09 to take the lead into the locker room.
Fowles, who hit her first three shots, had 16 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high seven blocks.
 
Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]