Two different streaks came to a conclusion Sunday in the PMAC, as the Lady Tigers won their first Southeastern Conference game in their last six attempts and ended No. 5 Kentucky’s
10-game SEC winning streak with a 61-51 victory.
The Lady Tigers returned to form defensively in the game, holding the Wildcats to 35 percent shooting.
Kentucky came into the game leading the SEC in both scoring (78.3 points per game) and 3-pointers (147), but the Lady Tigers were intent on stopping the Kentucky attack.
LSU coach Nikki Caldwell said she went with a defensive lineup to start the game, leaving senior forwards LaSondra Barrett and Courtney Jones on the bench at the tip for the first time this season.
“I wanted to set the tone right off the bat that we’re going to defend and rebound against this team,” Caldwell said.
The tone was set. Star Kentucky guard A’dia Mathies came into the game averaging 15.2 points per game — the third-highest total in the conference — but was neutralized by LSU defensive pressure in the first half.
Mathies didn’t score before halftime, missing on all seven of her field goal attempts.
“This group really played tough as far as guarding their perimeter play,” Caldwell said. “We really tried to disrupt [Mathies] and know where she was … at all times, and we did a good job with that.”
Mathies was a different player in the second half, connecting on five-of-seven attempts.
“It was more so me just having more confidence in my shot,” Mathies said. “They had a big lineup and blocked a couple shots.”
It’s hard to determine how LSU won the game by just looking at the box score.
The Lady Tigers’ problem with holding on to the ball reared its ugly head, as LSU turned over the ball 26 times, nearly matching their number of field goal attempts.
The turnovers mitigated an offensive attack that was successful when the Lady Tigers actually got a shot off — LSU scored 61 points, though they only attempted 30 shots in the contest.
The Lady Tigers shot 56.7 percent for the game, including a sizzling 68.8 percent in the second half.
Junior guard Adrienne Webb provided most of the scoring punch for LSU, scoring 19 points in the contest on six-of-nine shooting.
Of Webb’s 19 points, 16 came in the second half.
“[It was] just being aggressive on offense,” Webb said. “I was trying to get myself open. I had to start back-dooring and getting to the free-throw line.”
The Lady Tigers enjoyed a stellar performance from the charity stripe, connecting on 25-of-31 free throws.
LSU played without freshman forward Krystal Forthan, who suffered a high ankle sprain in practice Saturday, and junior guard Bianca Lutley, who was held out of the game.
“The way that Krystal went down yesterday, we kind of knew. Obviously we have been hit with adversity,” Caldwell said. “We were another guard short today, with Lutley not being able to play due to a team violation.”
The Lady Tigers don’t play again until Thursday, when they welcome Mississippi State to the PMAC. Webb said the team hopes to have some forward momentum from the big win Sunday.
“Playing a top-five team and holding them to 51 points, that’s really big,” Webb said. “It kind of motivates us to push harder in practice and finish out this year strong.”
 
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Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]