Playing in her final game in her native state of Mississippi, Ke-Ke Tardy gave the crowd a show.
Tardy scored a season-high 19 points and made 9-of-10 free throws as LSU cruised past Ole Miss, 83-67, in Oxford, Miss. The Lady Tigers beat the Lady Rebels for the sixth straight time and won their eighth straight game since losing to Arkansas last month.
LSU head coach Sue Gunter said though the team struggled shooting in the first half, she did not think it was looking ahead to the Tennessee game. She said the team did not get fired up until guard Doneeka Hodges took an elbow to the nose.
“It wasn’t what you’d call a fluid performance tonight, but we’ll take the win,” Gunter said. “I just don’t think we were ready to play.”
The Lady Tigers led 36-29 at halftime. The Tigers shot 42 percent to Ole Miss’ 34 percent and LSU outrebounded Ole Miss (12-12, 1-10 Southeastern Conference) and committed only nine turnovers.
The Lady Rebels got to within three in the second half before LSU went on a 28-9 run in the second half to pull away for good.
LSU (23-1, 10-1 SEC) only made two more field goals than Ole Miss, but LSU capitalized on 25 Lady Rebel fouls and made 30-of-37 free throws.
“The free throw line was really good to us tonight,” Gunter said. “We tried to maximize that [the number of fouls] and take the ball to the hole.”
Aiysha Smith scored 18 points and hit 9-of-12 free throws for LSU, who never trailed in the game. Doneeka Hodges added 10 points and point guard Temeka Johnson, who only played three minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, scored nine points.
Amber Watts led Ole Miss with 17 points.
LSU and No. 3 Tennessee clash in Baton Rouge Sunday at 4 p.m. for first place in the SEC. The Lady Volunteers will be looking to avenge last year’s 81-80 loss in the SEC tournament. LSU lost in Knoxville last year, 79-67.
“I think everybody’s been looking forward to this game for the entire season,” Gunter said. “In the last month they’ve probably been playing as well as anyone in the country.”
The backcourt tandem of Gwen Jackson and Kara Lawson lead the conference’s top scoring offense. Jackson averages 16.1 points a game, while Lawson throws in 13.8 points and four assists per game. The Lady Vols also lead the league in 3-point shooting percentage and rebounding margin.
“I just think it’s one of those games that could be a classic, our kids will be ready to play,” Gunter said. “To be able to put that one away would be absolutely monstrous for us.”
UT (23-3, 11-0), which will put a 14-game winning streak on the line, took care of Georgia at home, 87-60, to remain in first place. The Lady Volunteers have not lost since Jan. 4 against No. 1 Connecticut and lead the LSU series, 29-6.
“This is the kind of game you dream about,” Gunter said. “This is the kind of thing that makes you want to compete. You want to play against the best if you’re going to be the best.”