Oregon forward Cathrine Kraayeveld led the Ducks with 26 points, including 5-of-11 from 3-point land in a 76-67 victory against the LSU women’s basketball team on Sunday night. The loss to OU in the championship game of the Women’s Sports Foundation Tip-off Classic at the University of Oregon in Eugene dropped the No. 9 Lady Tigers to 1-1 on the young season.
OU (2-0) took a 41-26 lead at the break. The Ducks shot 46.2 percent from the field in the first half and were 3-of-8 from 3-point range.
LSU went on a 6-0 run to cut the OU lead to 63-54 with 4:01 left in the game, but the Lady Tigers were never able to trim the lead under nine points.
Sophomore forward Seimone Augustus led the Lady Tigers with 22 points. Guards Doneeka Hodges and Temeka Johnson also reached double digits, scoring 16 and 12 points, respectively.
The Lady Tigers shot 41.4 percent from the field but were 7-of-13 at the free throw line and 2-of-7 from 3-point range. The Ducks meanwhile, shot 53.3 percent from the field, 7-of-14 on 3-pointers and 21-of-30 from the charity stripe. LSU did outrebound OU 37-33.
LSU coach Sue Gunter credited OU for its game plan against the Lady Tigers. She said the young team has much to learn before it travels to No. 8 Penn State on Friday.
“They had a terrific game plan and they took us out of the things we wanted to do,” Gunter said. “They played with more intensity in the first half and it showed in the score. We need to learn from this game and move on from here.”
The Lady Tigers opened the tournament and the regular season on Saturday night with a 63-56 win against Villanova. Augustus led LSU with 19 points, while Hodges scored 11 points and became the 22nd Lady Tiger to reach 1,000 career points.
LSU trailed the Wildcats 38-26 with 15:32 left in the second half. The Lady Tigers took the lead for good 53-52 on a Scholanda Hoston free throw with 3:29 left in the game. Hoston scored 13 points for LSU and shot 7-of-9 from the free throw line.
The Wildcats took a 10-2 lead to begin the game and led 25-20 at halftime. Liad Suez led Villanova with a game-high 21 points.
Gunter said she was pleased with the Lady Tigers’ performance in the second half. LSU shot 52.2 percent from the floor in the second half a 47.7 percent for the game, while holding Villanova to 46.2 percent in the game. LSU also outrebounded Villanova 33-16 in the game.
“I thought our defense really stepped up in the second half,” Gunter said after Saturday’s victory. “We were able to do good things when it mattered, especially late in the game. I am very proud of our team, but I also have to give Villanova a lot of credit. They are a very solid team and are going to have a good year.”