Senior guard Allison Hightower keeps enhancing her already-storied legacy at LSU.Hightower has led the LSU women’s basketball team to five wins in its last six games by double-digits.”We are clicking on offense and defense,” Hightower said. “We have that chemistry right now. It feels like everything is flowing.”No. 21 LSU’s late-season momentum will be tested Friday night in Duluth, Ga., as the Lady Tigers take on Vanderbilt at 5:30 p.m. in the second round of the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament.LSU, the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament, has scored at least 70 points in its last two games while holding its opponents to less than 54 points. LSU coach Van Chancellor said he is excited about the way his team is playing defense.”Our team is playing as well as they’ve played all year,” Chancellor said. “I’m excited about March.”The Lady Tigers earned a bye after beating Mississippi State, 76-47, on Sunday in its regular season finale. LSU finished in a four-way tie for third place in the SEC with Mississippi State, Georgia and Vanderbilt.LSU earned the bye because it won the tiebreaker with Georgia and Vanderbilt. The top four teams in the SEC tournament earn byes. Mississippi State earned the No. 3 seed because it had a tiebreaker with LSU.”What I like about it is that you don’t have to take a chance of losing a game,” Chancellor said. “You don’t know who’s going to win games.”Vanderbilt, the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament, beat Arkansas, 65-64, Thursday night.LSU defeated Vanderbilt, 55-39, on Feb. 18 when four Lady Tigers reached double figures. The Commodores were held to less than 40 points for the first time since 1977.Chancellor said he doesn’t want his team falling into the trap of being a favorite in its first game of the tournament.”It’s hard to get your kids to stay focused after you’ve beaten somebody,” Chancellor said.LSU sophomore forward LaSondra Barrett also recognizes the challenge of facing a familiar foe.”[It’s] tougher when you have beaten an opponent [earlier in the season],” Barrett said. “They play more with a chip on their shoulder. Our coaches have instilled in us that you can’t relax for any team.”Barrett said all teams become dangerous come conference tournament time.”This is a totally different level at the SEC tournament,” Barrett said. “The records become 0-0. All teams out there are a threat.”LSU’s opponents have mainly been playing zone defense against the Lady Tigers. LSU struggled to beat the zone in the beginning of the season, but it has made strides against the coverage.”A lot of teams don’t play us man [defense] much anymore,” Hightower said. “We’re just trying to practice and lock in on what we need to do to get better at it.”The Lady Tigers have won the SEC tournament in 1991 and 2003 and reached the semifinals in the last eight seasons.Barrett said the team is excited about continuing the school’s legacy and proving LSU is still an elite program.LSU is also playing for a better seed in the NCAA tournament as the selection committee makes its final decisions.Chancellor said he thinks his team would be a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament right now, but there still is ground to be gained.”I don’t think we could hurt ourselves this weekend, but we could move up,” Chancellor said.LSU will play the winner of the Tennessee-Ole Miss matchup Saturday at 2:30 p.m. if the Lady Tigers win Friday.____Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]