The LSU women’s basketball team’s season came to an end Tuesday night in the PMAC at the hands of No. 4 seed Penn State, 90-80.
In their last three NCAA tournament appearances, the Lady Tigers (23-11) have lost in the second round.
The Lady Lions (26-6) set the pace in the game’s opening minutes, jumping out to a quick 9-0 advantage. PSU shot 3-for-4 during the stretch, including a three-pointer from sophomore guard Maggie Lucas just 10 seconds into the contest.
Lucas tallied 19 points in the first half behind a 5-of-6 shooting effort from beyond the arc.
The Lady Lions’ 90 points is the highest total conceded by the Lady Tigers this season, surpassing the 81 points scored by Vanderbilt on Jan. 29.
“Penn state is a very explosive team with very explosive guards,” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell. “When you play a team like Penn State, they’re going to make you pay for those defensive mistakes.
Down 14-7 with 12:12 to play in the first half, LSU went on an 8-0 run to take a one-point lead, sparked by four points from junior guard Bianca Lutley, who finished the game with 14 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.
Lutley’s layup at the 10:57 mark of the first half gave the Lady Tigers their first lead of the contest.
“I thought our team did a good job offensively getting the looks that we needed,” Caldwell said. “We didn’t bring the same type of defensive intensity that we are typically known to have. That has a lot to do with Penn State’s ability to spread you.”
LSU senior forward LaSondra Barrett scored her first bucket with 2:51 left in the first half on two free throws, which pushed the Lady Tigers to a 31-30 lead.
Barrett finished with a team-leading 18 points and 12 rebounds in her final collegiate game.
On the heels of seven points from three different Lady Tigers – sophomore guard Adrienne Webb, sophomore forward Theresa Plaisance and freshman forward Krystal Forthan – LSU took a 37-36 lead to halftime. After the break, the Lady Lions took a brief lead before a 6-0 LSU scoring run gave the Lady Tigers a 47-42 advantage. PSU answered with a layup before Plaisance knocked down her second three-pointer of the game to push the Lady Tigers lead to four with 14:40 to play.
The Lady Lions retook the lead with 13:21 left in the contest on a three-pointer from senior guard Zhaque Gray.
Just more than minute later, Lutley sank two free throws to give the LSU a 54-53 lead with 12:15 remaining. After trading buckets, an 8-2 PSU run in the next 2:46 culminated in a 61-57 lead for the Lady Lions with 7:44 to play.
The Lady Tigers contained Lucas to start the second half and held her without a basket until the 3:04 mark. But she finished with a game-high 30 points and played all but two minutes in the contest.
LSU cut its deficit to two with 4:33 to play on a layup from senior forward Courtney Jones, but the Lady Lions pulled away in the game’s final minutes, riding an 8-3 run over 1:38 to extend its lead to eight with 37.5 seconds remaining.
“That senior class is going to be a class that’s not replaceable, nor will we try to. We’re just going to try to groom every body to be ready to go next year,” Caldwell said.
Additional reporting by sports writer Luke Johnson.
 
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