The No. 22 LSU women’s basketball team was handed an early exit to the Southeastern Conference Tournament when it fell to No. 12 Georgia 71-53 on Friday night.
The loss ended a seven-game win streak for the sixth-seeded Lady Tigers’ (20-11, 10-6 SEC), as No. 3 seed Georgia (25-6, 12-4 SEC) advanced the tournament’s semifinals.
“A lot of credit to Georgia and the execution of their game plan,” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell in a news release. “We are not going to let this define who we are. We are a team that can beat some of the best teams in the country.”
The Lady Bulldogs sprinted out of the gate to an early lead and never looked back, holding LSU to 29 percent shooting from the field.
Georgia ran past the Lady Tigers with a balanced attack in which five Lady Bulldogs scored in double figures.
Georgia senior guard Jasmine Hassel shot 9-for-12 from the floor for 19 points and freshman guard Shacobia Barbee posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Tiaria Griffin finished the night with 15 points after hitting five shots from behind the arc.
LSU junior forward Theresa Plaisance finished the game with 13 points and seven rebounds. The contest was the 30th straight in which Plaisance has scored in double digits.
Plaisance said she is making it her responsibility to ensure LSU’s NCAA Tournament experience does not end in similar fashion.
“I am going to make it my job personally to not let these seniors go out like this,” Plaisance said. “We are going to take these two weeks and put a lot of work into the things we struggled with. These seniors deserve the best because they have given a lot to this program and the school.”
LSU junior forward Shanece McKinney left the game early with a head injury after a collision on the floor, leaving the Lady Tigers with just seven active players. Her status for the NCAA Tournament is still unknown.
Georgia went on to lose in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on Saturday to No. 7 Kentucky, who lost to No. 19 Texas A&M in the finals on Sunday night.
The Lady Tigers now await an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, which they are expected to receive on Selection Monday at 6 p.m. March 18 on ESPN. As hosts of the first and second rounds of the tournament, they hope to play their first games in the PMAC.
