All the Lady Tigers needed was a couple of historical performances from two sophomores to hand Vanderbilt its third consecutive Southeastern Conference loss last night.
Senior guard Seimone Augustus’ team-high 28 points didn’t hurt either.
The Lady Tigers used a career-game from guard Erica White and a team-record performance from center Sylvia Fowles to blow past Vanderbilt, 75-53, last night in the PMAC.
Fowles became the fourth player in LSU women’s basketball history to record at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in one game.
She finished the game with 26 points and 22 rebounds.
White added a career-high 14 assists and turned the ball over only four times. She finished the game with seven points in 32 minutes.
Coach Pokey Chatman said Fowles knew what she had to change to be more effective in the second half.
“She has speed, power, quickness and touch, and she is a smart basketball player,” Chatman said. “When she brings all of those things to the table, she’s virtually unstoppable.”
With the score tied at 34-34 in the second half with 16:20 left to play, the Lady Tigers went on a 24-3 run over a seven-minute span to take a 58-37 lead over the Lady Commodores.
Vanderbilt did without the play of junior guard Dee Davis, who is fifth in nation by averaging 7.1 assists per game.
Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb said Davis did not play because of a lingering injury all-season.
“She’s hurt,” Balcomb said. “It’s a knee injury she’s had all year.”
Davis had recorded minutes in each previous game this season.
The Lady Tigers also held Vanderbilt’s leading scorer, sophomore center Liz Sherwood, to two points in 12 minutes of play. Sherwood averages 13.7 points per game and just over 22 minutes per contest.
“Lately that’s about what she’s been playing,” Balcomb said.
In the first half, LSU and Vanderbilt exchanged 8-0 runs to keep the score at 28-27 at halftime.
Augustus led the Lady Tigers with 16 first-half points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, but the Lady Tigers as a team shot below 40 percent in the first half.
 
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