LSU’s luck in the state of Alabama ran out on Sunday at Auburn. The Lady Tigers never led and tied the game only once, falling to Auburn 68-50.
One game removed from scoring 103 points and shooting 65 percent from the field against Alabama, the Lady Tigers looked like a different team against No. 19 Auburn.
LSU made only eight shots in the first half, going 8-of-28 for 29 percent from the field. Auburn took advantage of LSU’s poor shooting and took a 33-21 halftime lead.
Auburn scored the final nine points in the first half and extended the run to 13-0 into the second half to take a 16-point lead.
LSU found a glimmer of offense midway through the second half to cut into the deficit. Behind a 7-0 run, the Lady Tigers cut the lead to 53-45 with 5:54 to play.
But Auburn responded with a 13-0 run to bury the Lady Tigers and seal the win.
No. 14 LSU (18-4, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) finished the game 20-of-66 from the field for 30 percent.
Seimone Augustus led LSU with 17 points, despite shooting 6-of-20 from the field. Augustus extended her consecutive free throws-made streak to 38 by going 5-of-5 from the line.
Natasha Brackett scored 22 points for the Tigers, who shot 43 percent from the field. Marita Payne gave LSU fits in the lane by blocking 10 shots and posting 15 rebounds.
LSU associate coach Bob Starkey said in the post game radio interview that Payne’s presence in the lane intimidated LSU.
“I wasn’t so much concerned about the shots that she blocked as the ones that we changed [because of her],” Starkey said. “That was the discouraging thing to me.”
Auburn — the nation’s No. 1 team in rebounding margin — outrebounded LSU 52-34 but turned the ball over 17 times against the Lady Tigers’ defense.
But LSU could not take advantage of Auburn’s mistakes. Starkey said LSU did not come to play against Auburn.
“There’s just not one area we played well in,” Starkey said. “That’s not a good thing to do when you’re on the road in this league playing against a team that’s playing as well as Auburn is right now.”
Auburn (18-5, 6-3 SEC) has won 5-of-6 games, avenged its SEC opener loss to the Lady Tigers on Jan. 11 and snapped LSU’s three-game winning streak against them.
Starkey said the game was over before the opening tipoff because of the way Auburn has played of late.
“You certainly have to give Auburn a great deal of credit,” Starkey said. “Their kids were highly motivated; they had an excellent gameplan [and] they executed very well. I just wish we could have competed a little bit harder than we did.”
LSU did not get the dominant bench performance the team saw against Alabama last Thursday, when Scholanda Hoston scored 25 points. But Starkey said Treynell Clavelle did provide LSU with its only bright spot of the day off the bench.
“I thought Treynell Clavelle really gave us some solid minutes, offensively and defensively,” Starkey said. “I thought she had some energy, and I was really pleased with the way she played for us.”
Clavelle scored seven points and grabbed five offensive rebounds.
LSU gets another chance to pick up coach Sue Gunter’s 700th career win on Thursday in the PMAC against Arkansas at 7 p.m.