The LSU Lady Tigers (9-2) extended their winning streak to eight games Monday night with a 68-52 victory over the Temple Owls (3-4) in the PMAC.
Seimone Augustus’ 19 points, coupled with Temeka Johnson’s double double (15 points and 12 assists), led the charge for the Lady Tigers as they won their sixth game in 10 days.
“[Johnson and Augustus] are the heart and soul of their team,” said Temple head coach Dawn Staley. “[LSU is] very perimeter heavy and they rely on them to score a lot of baskets. If you take one or two of them out of the equation then it is a different ball game. But the coach would have to sit them down for that to happen.”
Temple kept the score close early, primarily due to the inside presence of sophomore center Candice Dupree. Dupree scored 10 points in the first 11 minutes while shooting 5-for-5 from the floor in the first half.
However, the LSU front court combination of Crystal White and Wendlyn Jones limited Dupree to only nine points for the remainder of the game.
LSU broke the game open before the close to the first half going on 7-0 run over the final 4:05. The final three points came on a 30-foot bank shot by Johnson at the buzzer.
“The score was 31-27 and we had three opportunities to score,” Staley said of the late first half LSU run. “That would have given us the lead. We had a couple of turnovers, a couple of rushed shots, and a couple of missed opportunities to score. And when you do not take the correct shot on the floor they will make you pay.
“Then on top of that for [Johnson] to hit a 50-footer off the backboard for three, you set yourself up for that.”
The shot provided a spark for the Lady Tigers as LSU extended its lead to 20, seven minutes into the second half.
“We knew coming into this game that we could not allow a team like Temple to get the momentum and try to set the tempo of the game,” Johnson said of the run to the end the first half. “We had to set it ourselves and we knew that this was our house and we did not want them to think that they could win this game.”
Temple had a 9-2 run late in the second half, but was unable to get the LSU lead under 15 points.
“I was pleased tonight,” said Lady Tigers coach Sue Gunter. “I felt of the 40 minutes, that we probably played 28 to 30 really good minutes. I thought we had a chance to really put them away in the first half and we did not.”
The Lady Tigers received a late scare when senior guard Doneeka Hodges (17 points) injured her ankle on a fast break. Hodges rolled her ankle but Gunter said she should be OK to play in Saturday’s game against Florida State.
Prior to the game Johnson and Augustus were honored for their part in the USA Basketball team that won gold this summer in the Women’s World Championship for Young Women in Croatia. Augustus was named MVP of the tournament and was recently named USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year.
The Lady Tigers go on the road next to play Florida State in the Russell Athletic Shootout in Atlanta on Dec. 27.