A record 9,798 fans packed the PMAC witnessed No. 2 LSU handle No. 15 Penn State 80-63 Saturday and push its record to 12-0 heading into SEC play Thursday at Auburn.
The Tigers never trailed in the contest and shot nearly 51 percent in the game to outpace the Lady Lions. LSU opened the game with a 6-0 run after Aiysha Smith hit a three-pointer and Doneeka Hodges made a layup. Smith led all scorers with 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting.
Penn State stayed close for most of the first half, but a Seimone Augustus three-pointer to beat the shot clock gave LSU a comfortable 10-point lead at the half.
LSU head coach Sue Gunter was impressed with how her team shutdown All-America guard Kelly Mazzante, who came into the game averaging 27 points per contest. She said her point guards also played well.
“Today was about defense,” Gunter said. “Temeka Johnson and Kisha James did a superb job of keeping intense pressure on her (point guard Jess Strom) for 40 minutes.”
Mazzante scored only 13 points and made 6-of-15 shots, but center Ashli Schwab and forward Tanisha Wright picked up the scoring slack for Penn State. Schwab had 22 points and 11 rebounds while Wright added 18 points and nine boards.
“They did a good job on all of us,” Mazzante said. “We just needed more people to step up offensively.”
Guard Doneeka Hodges, who chipped in nine points, covered Mazzante for most of the game. Hodges said the plan was to limit her touches and force her to take off-balance shots.
“We knew she’d get some shots off and we wanted to make sure we contested everything she put up,” she said.
The Lady Lions (10-2, 1-0 Big Ten) could never sustain a rally in the second half, getting within eight, but no closer. LSU forced 19 turnovers from its opponent and limited them to 44 percent shooting.
“I think (LSU) did a good job of coming out and taking some things away from us,” PSU head coach Rene Portland said. “I thought they handled our pressure well.”
LSU committed nine of its 14 turnovers in the second half, but solid play from the reserves allowed Gunter to keep putting fresh players in the game. The Tigers had a 29-3 advantage in bench points.
Ke-Ke Tardy came off the bench to score 11 points. Kisha James added seven points and Wendlyn Jones had six points.
Smith was an inside force in the second half as well, scoring 13 points and igniting the crowd with several key baskets. Smith said the game was one of the more physical ones she has played in and the team must get better at rebounding.
“We’re going to have to start boxing out and rebounding or we’re going to get our butts kicked,” she said.
Augustus had 11 points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes. The freshman guard left the game early in the second half after turning her ankle, but later returned. Gunter said the injury was not serious.
Headed into conference play, Gunter is pleased with where here team is, but knows it has a long way to go. She said winning a game against a top 15 team is a huge boost and will help them down the road.
“These kids have been in some pressure cookers before,” Gunter said. “They’ve had the exposure of the NCAA play and when you’ve got five seniors and only two newcomers, they’re not in awe of too many things.”