By Patrick Clay, Sports Showtime web assistant/reporter
LSU defeated the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs 53-49 Thursday, earning the team’s 400th all-time victory in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The victory brought the Lady Tigers (16-8) to above .500 in conference play (6-5). Forward LaSondra Barrett led LSU with 7 rebounds and a game-high 17 points off the bench, including shooting 11-13 from the charity stripe.
The Lady Tigers survived a fierce comeback attempt by Mississippi State (13-11, 3-8), watching a 49-42 lead with 2:03 remaining slip to just a 49-48 lead with 35 seconds to go. But LaSondra Barrett managed to score the Lady Tigers’ final four points at the line to put the game out of reach.
Head coach Nikki Caldwell attributed Barrett’s ability to get to the free throw line to her aggressive play on offense.
“When you have (Barrett) playing that hard on offense, she’s hard to guard,” Caldwell said.
The game featured five ties and 15 lead changes. The Lady Tigers had two 7-point leads near the end of each period, but were unable to sustain them both times. Mississippi State managed a quick 4-0 run to cut an early 28-21 lead to just a three point deficit at halftime.
LSU guard Adrienne Webb also added ten points, eight coming in the first half. Diamber Johnson led the Lady Bulldogs in scoring with 15 points on 4-14 shooting, the only Mississippi State player to reach double digits in scoring.
The Lady Tigers look to extend their win streak to three with a visit to Alabama on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 1 p.m.
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