Playing on the first day of the Southeastern Conference tournament Thursday for the first time in 10 years was unfamiliar to the LSU women’s basketball team, but its defense still came out in full force.
The No. 7-seed Lady Tigers (19-12) limited No. 10-seed Alabama (16-14) to nine points in the first half and rolled to a 60-36 victory in Nashville, Tenn. LSU will face No. 2 Kentucky today at 2:30 p.m.
“It sure is good to be hanging around another day,” LSU coach Van Chancellor said after the game. “I’ll tell you that right now.”
The nine points were the fewest first-half point total by an SEC opponent against LSU in school history. No Alabama player scored in double figures.
LSU, on the other hand, shot 49 percent from the floor for the game, and junior forward LaSondra Barrett and sophomore guard Adrienne Webb led the charge with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Junior forward Taylor Turnbow also racked up 12 rebounds.
“I knew coming into the SEC tournament I would have to show by example,” Barrett said after the game. “Coach Chancellor tells me I’m the most influential person on this team.”
Webb went 5-of-11 from the field Thursday, and her one 3-pointer vaulted her into the top five in LSU history with 71 career treys.
LSU’s victory, its 13th straight win against Alabama, was marked by the Lady Tigers connecting on both sides of the court.
LSU outscored the Crimson Tide in points in the paint, 34-10, and converted 16 Alabama turnovers into 16 points.
Alabama’s offense was anemic right off the bat, as the Crimson Tide did not score a point until the 10:17 mark of the first half when freshman guard Shafontaye Myers broke a 0-of-11 shooting streak. LSU jumped out to an 18-5 lead with 7:56 remaining in the first half and then led 26-9 at the break.
“We controlled the first five minutes of each half,” Chancellor said. “I thought that was the difference in the game.”
The Lady Tigers will have a tougher test today against Kentucky. LSU hung with the Wildcats for much of their matchup Feb. 13 in Lexington, Ky.
The game was tied with 30 seconds left, but Webb was called for traveling on the ensuing possession. That call opened the door for Brittany Henderson to sink a game-winning layup with 1.1 seconds left on an assist from A’dia Mathies, as Kentucky won, 49-47.
“They did a great job of pressuring us, but if you’re going to hold Kentucky to 49 points, you think you ought to win the game,” Chancellor said. “But we couldn’t make a layup. We missed five layups with nobody around us. That was a great play they ran at the end, but that wasn’t the play that beat us. We lost the game within the game.”
Today’s game will mark LSU’s 13th straight quarterfinal appearance in the SEC tournament.
Follow Rachel Whittaker on Twitter @TDR_Whittaker.
 
 
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