Former LSU guard Seimone Augustus said throughout the season that she wanted only one more trophy to compliment her extensive collection of national honors.
During the regular season, the Lady Tigers looked poised for a championship run by knocking off 2005 National Champion Baylor and National Championship runner-up Michigan State in the team’s first 19 games.
The Lady Tigers looked even more like a championship team Feb. 9 by defeating Tennessee in Knoxville for the first time in the program’s history.
“There are so many positive things to pull from this unrelated to standings but related to filling the gaps in areas that need to be polished by the time you get to March,” LSU coach Pokey Chatman said.
By regular season’s end, LSU had captured its second consecutive outright Southeastern Conference title.
Though it did not win the SEC Tournament, LSU landed a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in the San Antonio Regional.
The Lady Tigers rolled over their first three opponents, Florida Atlantic University, University of Washington and DePaul University, by an
average of 19 points, but one alarming factor stuck out in each of the Lady Tigers’ first three tournament games.
LSU waited until the final 20 minutes of its games to play its best basketball — a trend that would prove costly for the team.
In their Elite Eight contest March 27 against Stanford, Augustus single-handedly saved the game for LSU by taking a charge with 4.8 seconds left in the game, a play that gave the ball back to the Lady Tigers with a 1 point lead.
But Augustus and the Lady Tigers’ dreams of a national title came to screeching halt April 2 against Duke in the Final Four in Boston.
The Lady Blue Devils shot 50 percent from the field while holding LSU to 29 percent shooting to crush the Lady Tigers, 64-45.
Augustus scored just 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting in 40 minutes of play.
The LSU’s 45 points was its lowest output of the season and were the fewest points scored in a national semi-final game.
After the game, Augustus was flooded with questions about her disappointment leaving LSU without winning a national title.
“It’s been amazing just being on this ride,” Augustus said. “I felt like I came in and did what I wanted to do for this program — make history.”
 
Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]