The No. 6 seed LSU women’s basketball team survived a feisty No. 11 seed Green Bay with a 75-71 victory in its first-round game of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday in the PMAC.
An 18-point second-half lead was not enough for LSU to put away the Phoenix, who used a late string of 3-pointers to bring the game within one possession in the final minute.
“Give a lot of credit to [Green Bay coach Kevin Borseth’s] kids for how hard they played and how hard they fought back,” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell. “I was equally proud of our team for not folding down the stretch, and they were able to come away with a win.”
The two squads went back-and-forth in a dogfight of a first half, but the Lady Tigers ran into the locker room holding on to a 32-27 lead after finishing the period on a 7-2 run.
LSU sprinted out in the second half on a 14-5 run in less than five minutes led by senior guard Adrienne Webb, who hit three shots from beyond the arc in that span.
“I knew that I had to step up and play my role for our team to win,” Webb said. “That was knocking down those open shots.”
After building a 54-36 lead with 12:38 remaining, LSU saw its cushion slowly dwindle away as shots began to fall for Green Bay.
The Phoenix shot five-for-six from 3-point land in the final seven minutes of the game, including one from senior guard Megan Lukan to cut LSU’s lead to three points with 49 seconds remaining.
“With every great team, you know they are going to make a run at some point in the game,” Webb said. “… Our will to win this game really shows how much that we really want to be here.”
But an offensive rebound by LSU freshman guard Danielle Ballard that turned the shot clock off and led to two free throws by junior forward Theresa Plaisance with 15 seconds left all but sealed victory for LSU.
Webb finished the game 4-for-7 in 3-pointers for 15 points. Plaisance and Ballard also contributed heavily with 16 points each and combining for 11 rebounds.
Green Bay senior forward Sarah Eichler led the Phoenix with 22 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Senior forward Jenny Gilbertson provided a spark off the bench for the Phoenix, scoring 15 points and grabbing six boards.
LSU junior guard Jeanne Kenney was carried off the floor in the final minute after colliding with Webb on an inbounds play. Her status for the rest of the tournament is still unknown.
The Lady Tigers will take on No. 3 seed Penn State in the second round at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Penn State defeated No. 14 seed Cal Poly 88-55 on Sunday afternoon.
“I was equally proud of our team for not folding down the stretch, and they were able to come away with a win.”
