The LSU women’s basketball team all but secured its spot in the NCAA Tournament by defeating No. 13 Texas A&M, 67-52, on Sunday in Reed Arena in its regular season finale.
After handing the Aggies (21-9, 11-5 Southeastern Conference) their third straight loss, LSU (19-10, 10-6 SEC) has won six straight games — three against Top 15 teams — and will head into the SEC Tournament as the sixth seed.
“I’m proud of this group because they’ve done a tremendous job of taking a game plan and executing it,” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell in a post-game radio interview. “… This team is mature, they’re tournament ready and they are playing with a lot of confidence.”
After a dismal start in which the Lady Tigers scored only 11 points in the first 16 minutes of the game, they found themselves trailing the Aggies by 13 late in the first half.
LSU then went on to score the last nine points of the period and headed into the half trailing Texas A&M by only four.
The Lady Tigers then stormed out of the locker room and put up 16 points in under four minutes to give themselves a 36-29 lead early in the second half.
“We changed our team’s mindset, they refocused and they went into LSU mode,” Caldwell said. “… They were unselfish, and our defense really tightened up in the second half.”
LSU never looked back after taking the lead, as it went on to dominate the period, outscoring Texas A&M 47-28.
The Lady Tigers’ earned the big win despite having only seven players see the court, four of which scored in double digits. Junior forward Theresa Plaisance led the way with 16 points and six rebounds.
LSU freshman guard Danielle Ballard earned a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in addition to three steals and three assists.
“Everybody did something positive,” Caldwell said. “It made a big difference when we got Ballard on the boards for us.”
Texas A&M junior center Kelsey Bone was held to 6-for-19 from the floor for 13 points and seven rebounds.
Caldwell felt that freshman forward Derreyal Youngblood and junior forward Shanece McKinney’s containment of Bone, despite her team-leading performance, was vital to the Lady Tigers’ success.
“Our MVPs were Shanece McKinney with her defensive presence and Derreyal Youngblood,” Caldwell said. “[Youngblood] did a great job of trying to be physical and keep Bone out of her comfort zone. … Our bigs really played a tremendous game defensively.”
The Lady Tigers now look forward to a week off before they head to Duluth, Ga., where they will take on the 11th seed in their opening game of the SEC Tournament.
“We’re coming in, and we’re playing some good basketball,” Caldwell said. “… We’re seasoned. We’re ready.”
