The Lady Tigers entered Thursday’s game in hopes of enhancing their chances at an NCAA tournament birth against No. 23 Texas A&M.
With a 67-63 victory, LSU has heightened its chances much more.
A last second steal by sophomore guard Chloe Jackson with 28 seconds left, was key to help the Lady Tigers ice the game along with three clutch free throws by junior guard Raigyne Moncrief.
“I thought everybody was aggressive today,” Moncrief said. “We need more threats offensively and for everyone to score the basketball.”
LSU (18-8, 7-6 in Southeastern Conference) struggled to stop Texas A&M (19-7, 9-4 in Southeastern Conference) from scoring in the first quarter, allowing the Aggies to shoot 89 percent from the field.
Texas A&M also dominated LSU on the inside, scoring 14 of its 16 first quarter points in the paint.
LSU forced Texas A&M to turn the ball over eight times in the first quarter, scoring eight points off of Texas A&M’s miscues.
The Lady Tigers ended the first quarter with a jumper from Jackson at the buzzer.
LSU began to establish a presence from the post players on offensively, scoring its first eight points of the second quarter from freshman and senior forwards Ayana Mitchell and Alexis Hyder.
The Lady Tigers tightened up their defense in second quarter, holding Texas A&M without a field goal for over five minutes.
Moncrief capped a dominating second quarter for LSU, with a long two-pointer before the buzzer to lift the Lady Tigers’ lead to five going into halftime.
LSU began the second half very sluggish on both ends of the floor. Texas A&M opened the second half on a 9-0 run before the Lady Tigers made their first field goal.
“I thought A&M really did what they typically do,” said coach Nikki Fargas. “They make runs at you and it started with their leading scorer Danni Williams. She really did a nice job of hitting the three-ball and she got a pull-up in transition. I called a timeout just to put emphasis that you’re only gonna win this basketball game is through your defense and your board-play.”
The Lady Tigers settled in defensively, creating opportunities to score in transition and at the free throw line with their defensive stops.
Texas A&M did not score a field goal in the remaining four minutes in the third quarter.
When LSU slowed down Texas A&M’s post play, the Aggies managed to find open shooters on the perimeter multiple times. Texas A&M drained three key three-pointers to keep them close.
LSU used its strength to its advantage, snatching 13 steals and forcing 23 turnovers and scoring 24 points off Texas A&M’s turnovers.
“When we were at Texas A&M, we did not fight hard for the whole 40 minutes,” Jackson said. “We knew playing them again what we had to do was to play hard for the whole 40 minutes and to give it all we had. I feel like everybody came out and did their part today.”
LSU will go on the road and face Georgia on Sunday at 1 p.m.
