It was an exhausting day in the hayfield.
That’s how LSU women’s basketball coach Van Chancellor described the Lady Tigers’ game against Auburn on Thursday night. LSU (17-9, 7-5) again shot dismally in a first half that ended in a 16-all tie, but came alive to beat Auburn (13-11, 6-5), at the PMAC, 55-52, and pull into fifth place in the Southeastern Conference standings.
“A game like tonight where you can’t score reminds me of when your daddy’s made you work in the hayfield, and you’re hauling hay, and you’re so tired,” Chancellor said of the game, which included 11 lead changes. “Right now I could almost go to sleep and lay down on this table. This is a hard-working victory tonight because you’re trying everything you can to score.”
LSU led Auburn 45-35 with 5:29 to play, but Auburn made three 3-pointers in the final 39 seconds for shot to win, which it could not convert as the final buzzer sounded.
The Lady Tigers fell behind 7-0 and did not score until a free throw by junior forward Courtney Jones with 14:05 left in the first half. LSU did not record a field goal until senior guard Katherine Graham made a one-handed basket with 9:57 left that cut Auburn’s lead to 9-6.
Graham made 12-of-15 free throws, tied for No. 8 all-time in a single game and led LSU with 18 points. Jones recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
It only took 13 seconds after the break for sophomore guard Adrienne Webb to make a 3-pointer – LSU’s first of the game.
LSU was 22-of-30 from the free-throw line while Auburn was just 5-of-8.
“We just talked about relaxing,” Chancellor said. “This wasn’t fighting in Iraq. It wasn’t dodging bullets. We had a great defensive plan, and we were able to execute it.”
LSU next goes on the road to face Kentucky, who fell to South Carolina, 66-61, on Thursday. LSU has not won three games in a row in SEC play this season.
“I would have loved to played Kentucky tonight,” Chancellor said. “They spent so much energy with Tennessee [Monday]. Now by Sunday they’ll be so mad they can’t see straight.”
Graham said all the attention now turns to Kentucky, who is 12-1 at home this season.
“They are athletic, like to pressure the ball, just Kentucky basketball,” she said.
Follow Rachel Whittaker on Twitter @TDR_Whittaker.
 
 
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