Senior forward LaSondra Barrett delivered a clutch performance in the waning moments of LSU’s 53-49 win against Mississippi State on Thursday night, propelling LSU to its second consecutive conference victory.
“We knew this was going to be a battle,” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell. “I was very proud of this group for their … play down the stretch to come away with line.”
Barrett caught freshman Martha Alwal off guard, and the Lady Bulldogs center fouled Barrett as she sank the layup. The basket put LSU up by seven — a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Mississippi State wouldn’t go down without a fight. With just 35 seconds remaining, it pulled within a point of the Lady Tigers — but Barrett connected on two more free throws to put LSU ahead by three.
Barrett scored 17 points in the contest, including LSU’s final 10 — eight of which came from the free-throw line.
Senior forward Courtney Jones said the team can’t help but be inspired when Barrett gets on a roll.
“We have a lot of confidence in LaSondra,” Jones said. “When we see her get her sparkle on, we want to get our sparkle on … it brings a lot of energy to us.”
Lady Bulldogs’ senior guard Diamber Johnson, who came into the game ranked second in the Southeastern Conference in scoring at 16.4 points per game, led Mississippi State with 15 points.
The Lady Tigers’ struggles with turnovers continued for the first 30 minutes of the game, turning the ball over 15 times. But LSU didn’t commit a turnover in the final 10 minutes of the game.
The Lady Tigers will travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Sunday to play an Alabama team that just earned its first conference win against Ole Miss on Thursday.
The Crimson Tide are 1-10 in conference play, including a lopsided 84-40 loss to the Lady Tigers the night before the Alabama football team dashed LSU’s BCS National Championship dreams.
In the first contest, LSU was at the tail end of a 10-game winning streak and used a balanced attack to dispatch Alabama. Barrett (16) and junior guard Adrienne Webb (14) were LSU’s only double-digit scorers.
Alabama comes into the contest with the SEC’s worst scoring defense, giving up 64.4 points per game overall, and 73.2 points per game in conference play.
With another win, the Lady Tigers could add to their résumé the opportunity to host a regional basketball game in the NCAA tournament — but Caldwell was not ready to think about that.
“One game at a time,” she said. “One game at a time.”
 
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