LSU women’s basketball coach Van Chancellor said earlier in the week he was looking forward to seeing how well the No. 5 Lady Tigers would fare in their first test against live competition.
It is safe to assume LSU passed with flying colors.
LSU defeated the All-Stars 94-35 Wednesday night in the PMAC thanks to a suffocating defensive effort that held the All-Stars to just 24 percent shooting for the game. Senior center Sylvia Fowles led the Lady Tigers with 16 points in 20 minutes.
“I was very excited and motivated and ready to go play,” Fowles said. “It was our first game, so I am glad I was able to do a couple of things to help my teammates out. I thought [the game] was good overall.”
Senior Quianna Chaney and sophomore Allison Hightower each added 11 points for the Lady Tigers and seniors RaShonta LeBlanc, Mesha Williams and junior Kristen Morris added 10.
LSU started fast, opening the game on a 25-0 run, holding the All-Stars scoreless for 10 minutes.
“I thought we opened up the game and played some pretty good ball,” Chancellor said. “I thought we let it get a little sloppy at the end, but I was pleased overall.”
The Lady Tigers utilized full-court pressure on defense to keep the All-Stars offense in shambles, forcing 21 first half turnovers while holding the All-Stars to just 14 percent shooting from the field.
Fowles led LSU in the first half with 12 points in 14 minutes to take the Lady Tigers into the locker room with a 54-9 halftime advantage.
“I don’t care who you play and where you play,” Chancellor said. “When you’re up [54]-9, you’ve done some pretty good things.” The Lady Tigers continued their dominance in the second half, beginning on a 16-1 run to stretch LSU’s advantage to 70-10 with more than 15 minutes to play. Fowles said despite the big lead, the Lady Tigers were able to stay focused because of support from the LSU bench players. “[Being focused] is not very hard when you have your coaches down your back and your teammates screaming at you and yelling at you every second,” Fowles said.
Hightower hit two shots from outside in the run. For the game, the Arlington, Texas, native hit three shots from behind the arc.
Hightower said she expects to show improvement in her second season at LSU.
“I still have a lot to learn and a lot to get better at,” Hightower said. “But I’m just continuing to get prepared for the season.”
LSU backed off its full-court pressure in the final half but used a dominant man-to-man attack to keep the All-Stars in check. Four players led the All-Stars with six points and former Villanova forward Jana Rediger led the All-Stars with 10 rebounds.
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