To see a slideshow of the women’s game against Green Bay, click here.
 
LSU junior guard Allison Hightower went on a scoring rampage just when the No. 6 seed LSU women’s basketball team thought she couldn’t do anymore against No. 11 seed Green Bay.Hightower sparked the Lady Tigers to a 69-59 victory against Green Bay in the first round of the NCAA tournament behind a career-high 26 points.She scored 20 of those points in the first half, only five points less than all of Green Bay’s halftime score. She also had only one turnover and made both of LSU’s 3-point field goals.”Hightower was unbelievable,” said LSU coach Van Chancellor. “She just carries us on her back.”Hightower’s previous career-high was 23 points against Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference tournament. She broke that mark on a jumper with 16:43 left in the game.One of only two Lady Tigers with NCAA tournament experience, Hightower left the game with cramps with 4:30 left in the second half. Chancellor called it “a bad coaching move” to leave her in the game for so long, but he said it was difficult for him to substitute for such a dominant player.”When LSU’s got the ball, she does all the ball-handling. When the other team has the ball, she’s running anywhere and everywhere,” Chancellor said. “There’s nothing wrong with her play; we just have to cut her minutes down by two in each half. It’s hard to take out a woman doing like she’s doing.”LSU senior forward Kristen Morris, who amassed 13 points and 16 rebounds, said Hightower was nearly unstoppable.”Allison did an excellent job in the first half. She was just in the zone,” Morris said. “They were trying to guard her one-on-one, which is probably not the best idea … In the second half, they didn’t necessarily take her out of the game. Her body slowed her down a little bit.”Green Bay coach Matt Bollant said he could not think of anyone in the Horizon League who was quite like Hightower.”She’s special, and she was really special tonight,” Bollant said. “The [3-pointer] she hit in the first half when we defended so well, and it came down to one second left on the shot clock … and for her to play with that kind of confidence was a difference-maker tonight.”
Green Bay led twice in the first half, and the score was tied at two and 11 at different points in the first frame. But a Hightower free throw and 3-pointer with 10:54 remaining gave LSU a lead they would not relinquish.But Green Bay, who had won 21 straight games, refused to give up in the second half after LSU went on a 6-0 run after halftime, and a jumper by Hightower gave the Lady Tigers their biggest lead of the game at 49-30.The Phoenix went on a 6-0 run of their own with 8:30 remaining as senior forward Rachel Porath and sophomore forward Kayla Tetschlag both sank 3-pointers to cut the lead to 12.”We played even with them in the second half,” Tetschlag said. “Obviously we had some missed opportunities, 10 missed free throws … But we weren’t scared to come down and take on LSU on their home court. I’m proud we stepped in with confidence and did our best and stuck together.”Green Bay’s scoring defense was No. 1 in the nation coming into Sunday’s first-round game, and LSU’s 69 points were the second-most the Phoenix allowed this season.”Unfortunately, I think [Green Bay] came in here not knowing who we were,” Morris said. “I wanted to make a statement for myself and make sure my teammates got involved and make sure we didn’t play into the hands of the No. 1 defense in the nation.”LSU will take on Louisville in the second round Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. in the PMAC.–
Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]