Coming off one of its best offensive performances of the season, the LSU women’s basketball team kept its hot hand Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Tigers (14-7, 4-3) came out of the gates firing, hitting 6-of-13 from 3-point range in the first half en route to a 72-58 victory against Florida (12-9, 2-5) in the PMAC.
“It’s just finding the open spot,” said sophomore guard Adrienne Webb, who sunk three of her first four treys in the game. “If I’m open and have a shot, I’m going to take it.”
Webb had 18 points in the game.
And while the Lady Tiger defense led the way in the first half of the season, the offense maintained control of the paint throughout the entire contest in what LSU coach Van Chancellor called “the most dominant rebounding we have seen since I’ve been here, even with Sylvia [Fowles].”
LSU outrebounded Florida 41-24 in the game and outscored the Gators 30-10 in the paint.
“They were switching everything and we had a lot of mismatches, so we got the ball inside,” said Chancellor, referring to one the team’s go-to plays that opened up shots down low for the Lady Tigers.
Junior forward LaSondra Barrett was the catalyst for the Lady Tigers with 14 points and 12 rebounds, marking her third double-double of the season and eighth in her career.
Barrett, who went down in the second half with a left ankle injury, returned later in the half to complete the performance and was just two assists away from a triple double.
Barrett said despite the dominant stat line, the Gators didn’t go down without a fight.
“At the end of the game, whatever team had the best defense and the most rebounds were going to come out with the win,” said Barrett, who is just seven points away from the 1,000 mark. “It’s just a hunger to want the basketball.”
  Gallery: Women’s Basketball vs. Florida
 
The Gators put up a fight for most of the first half, but seemed to slowly fizzle in the tail end of the game.
“I’m a little baffled because we came out ready to play, and it’s disappointing,” said Florida coach Amanda Butler. “I thought LSU made big shots and plays to set the tones for the game. You have to give them a lot of credit.”
The Lady Tigers also got a solid showing from senior guard Katherine Graham, who had 11 points and nine rebounds in the contest.
“When I talked to [Chancellor] he said that I need to play hard every possession,” Graham said. “There are only a few more games at LSU for me wearing this jersey. Just to go out every play and do what I’ve been doing since I’ve been here.”
LSU continues its four-game homestand with a matchup Thursday night against No. 23 Arkansas before taking on Georgia on Sunday in the annual Pink Game.
“We got two tough games. We have two challenges, two opportunities,” Chancellor said. “Arkansas and Georgia both have great RPIs, and this time of year you need to win some games against RPIs.”
Tip-off against Arkansas is set for 7 p.m. in the PMAC. After Sunday’s game, the Lady Tigers hit the road for five of their last seven games.
 
 
____
Contact Mark Clements at [email protected]