The Lady Tigers entered Sunday’s looking to snap their three-game losing skid after jumping out to 14-3 in their first 17 games.
LSU (15-6, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) did just that in a 53-46 victory over Arkansas (13-8, 2-6 SEC) halting its losing streak.
LSU had to rally from behind in the win after Arkansas started the game red-hot from the field, shooting 72 percent.
“We shouldn’t of been down from the jump,” junior guard Raigyne Moncrief said. “We started off sluggish. Jackson started getting hot and they started hitting the three-point, so we had to shut that down. Once we started to get our groove back and get some stops defensively and hit shots, things started going our way.”
LSU’s last meeting against Arkansas was in Fayetteville on Jan. 8, where the Lady Tigers overcame a late game deficit to defeat the Razorbacks on the road 53-52. Since then, the Lady Tigers have gone 1-3 in conference play.
Before the game, Moncrief was inducted in the 1,000 point club, after she scored 18 points against Texas A&M last week.
Moncrief became the 32nd LSU player to net 1,000 points in her career.
“It’s a blessing to be a part of something like that,” Moncrief said. “You know with so many greats to come through here, it’s just a blessing to be a part of that club.”
Early on, the Lady Tigers could not seem to find an answer on the defensive end to slow down Arkansas’ offensive attack. The Razorbacks shot 73 percent from the field at the end of the first.
On the other end, LSU could not find a rhythm on offense, shooting a mere 43 percent from the field and LSU trailed Arkansas 20-13 after the first quarter.
LSU’s defense settled in during the second quarter, allowing only eight points.
Arkansas did not score in the last 3:41 of the first half as LSU slowly creeped back in the game, ending the first half on a 9-0 run, cutting the lead to two points for the Razorbacks.
Arkansas had a strong start to the second half, outscoring the Lady Tigers 9-2, but LSU responded with 7-0 run.
LSU’s defense held an Arkansas offense that scored 20 points in the first quarter to single digits in the second and third quarter, and the score was tied at 37 going into the fourth quarter.
LSU raised its intensity in the fourth quarter, making it very difficult for Arkansas to find any offensive flow to its game.
Arkansas shot 3-of-10 from the field and were held scoreless in the last three minutes of the game.
With sophomore guard Chloe Jackson having a rare off-night shooting the ball only scoring four points, senior guard Jasmine Rhodes picked up the slack leading all scorers for LSU with 13 points and four rebounds in 38 minutes of play.
“It’s not about points for me,” Rhodes said. “I’m here for whatever they need me for. I play the four. I play the one. I play the two. If I score doing it, that’s great. If I can’t, as long as we get the win that’s awesome.”
Sunday’s game marked the first time in Rhodes’ career that she led the way in scoring for LSU.
“It makes it a whole lot easier when other people can make shots,” coach Nikki Fargas said. “She is playing at the stretch four. She’s gonna get those looks. Tonight, for her to knock those down was huge for us.”
The Lady Tigers travel to face Tennessee on Thursday in Knoxville at 6 pm.
“We’re gonna go in and hold our hat on our defense and our board play,” Fargas said. “We know we gotta go in there and play like a team.”
