When LSU and the University of California, Santa Barbara interrupted their conference schedules to face each other Saturday, neither team expected to participate in an epic, triple-overtime thriller that the Lady Tigers eventually won 94-90.
This was only the second meeting between the two teams. The first battle was in 1996 when LSU posted the 77-73 win, also an overtime victory.
Both teams battled deficits in the game but neither team would relinquish its hold on the game. It was LSU’s first three-overtime game.
“It was a hell of a basketball game,” said Sue Gunter, LSU head coach. “People just kept getting up off the floor. We’d think we would have the knockout punch, and they’d get up and come back.”
Gunter said both teams played hard, and when it looked like one team had the advantage, the other team somehow found a way to get back in the game. She said LSU had plenty of opportunities to win the game but could not capitalize.
“One of my favorite terms for players who step up when the money’s on the line is warriors,” she said. “We had some kids who played like warriors tonight.”
Seimone Augustus scored 20 points, despite making 8-of-22 shots, and played a school-record 53 minutes. Temeka Johnson added 18 points, seven steals and seven assists.
“They did a great job defending us, they were very aggressive,” Augustus said. “Their guards were very active; they took us out of some of our penetration.”
LSU had a chance to win the game in regulation, when it led by four with under a minute to play. But Aiysha Smith missed a free throw and the Gauchos got two layups, including Jess Hansen’s coast-to-coast bucket as time expired, to force overtime.
The Tigers appeared on the brink of defeat in the first overtime, down by two and UCSB at the free throw line shooting a one-and-one. But Lisa Willett missed the shot, and LSU point guard Temeka Johnson drove to the hoop, banking in a high shot off the glass with 8 seconds left.
“I just saw the glass, and I knew if I was going to shoot it, I had to get it up higher,” Johnson said.
The Gauchos then had to overcome an eight-point deficit with 2:36 left in the second overtime, and were able to cut the lead to three. Hansen then hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left to tie the game at 68.
Hansen, who scored 23 points and hit 5-of-9 from 3-point range, said the team’s composure helped them stay focused when the game appeared to be lost. She said the team had come too far to give up.
“Regardless of whether we won or lost, I think that was an incredible game to just be a part of,” Hansen said.
UCSB head coach Mark French said the players for both teams were very resilient, and the game epitomized everything about college sports.
“Great teams find a way to win, and LSU found that way,” French said.
Smith, who scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, proved to be the hero for LSU in the final overtime. With her team up one point and 55 seconds left on the clock, Smith buried a 3-pointer to put the Gauchos away.
“I was just hoping it would go in,” Smith said.
Kristen Mann led UCSB with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting. She said the players and referees were having fun during the overtimes and the team never lost its focus, even when it was down.
“It’s a matter of heart and believing in yourself,” Mann said. “You just have to believe you can come back.”