Throughout her career, LSU senior center Sylvia Fowles has been a dominant post presence because of her blend of low-post moves and 6-foot-6-inch frame.
In a 64-41 win against No. 17 Michigan State on Thursday, Fowles ran into one of the few players in the country taller than her, 6-foot-9-inch sophomore center Alyssa DeHaan.
“With my personality, I am going to give [her] a challenge either way it goes,” Fowles said. “But my basic mindset was to just go out there and play hard and to not let my teammates down. I wanted to bang every time I touch the ball.”
LSU coach Van Chancellor said his All-American center was dominant in all aspects of the game.
“I thought [Fowles] was a real beast out there tonight,” Chancellor said. “We were playing with her today telling her some things [DeHann] had said about her, which weren’t true, but she didn’t know any better. I thought she met the challenge tonight.”
Fowles dominated throughout the first half of play, using an array of post moves and pull-up jump shots to get DeHaan in foul trouble.
The Miami native’s 21 first-half points was seven more than the entire Spartan roster, as the Lady Tigers held an 18-point halftime advantage.
But Fowles was arguably more impressive on the defensive end recording six first half rebounds, while holding DeHaan scoreless in 16 minutes of action before she recorded her second foul.
As a team, LSU again utilized pressure defense to prevent the Spartan offense from finding a rhythm, forcing 14 first-half turnovers, while allowing just six field goals and 14 total points.
“The thing is with LSU is you have to be able to score with them,” said Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant. “Their pressure is intense in not only the full court, but also the quarter court, so we didn’t really score enough and [not making shots] doesn’t help you defensively either.”
Merchant said her team did not execute the team’s game plan in the paint.
“We really made a point to hit the offensive glass,” Merchant said. “And we were horrible on the offensive glass, absolutely terrible. It’s pretty inexcusable as a coach when you have to fight through that.”
The second half was more of the same for the swarming LSU defensive attack, limiting the Spartans to just 38 percent, while forcing eight more turnovers.
Chancellor said his team emphasized having a defensive mindset like the team possessed for much of the team’s four consecutive Final Fours.
“[Senior guard Erica White] told the team we were going to see LSU defense tonight,” Chancellor said. “And I think we saw that.”
For the season, LSU has now held opponents to just under 45 points a game, a mark that Chancellor said could be attributed to White and senior guard RaShonta LeBlanc’s pressure defense.
—-Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]
Fowles dominant in win over Lady Spartans
November 16, 2007