The LSU women’s basketball team lost 71-69 in a battle with No. 25 Georgetown in Washington D.C., where the Lady Tigers shot just 14-for-26 from the free-throw line.
“You can’t go on the road and shoot 53 percent from the free-throw line,” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell.
LSU (1-2) started the game well, leading 27-23 at halftime, but Georgetown’s (3-1) second half run out of the locker room was too much for the Lady Tigers to overcome down the stretch. Early in the second half, LSU went six minutes without scoring.
Georgetown senior guard Sugar Rodgers, who was held to five points in the first half, put together a strong second half, finishing with 17 points in the game. But other Lady Hoyas stepped up as well — of the nine threes Georgetown made, six were from players who haven’t made a three this season.
“When you’re playing in this environment, you’ve got to know that players are going to rise to the occasion and bring their best shot at you,” Caldwell said.
LSU junior guard Theresa Plaisance led the Lady Tigers with 20 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three blocks. Senior guard Adrienne Webb added 21 points, 14 of which came late in the second half. Junior guard Jeanne Kenney put up a career-high eight assists, while freshman guard Danielle Ballard tallied five assists, three steals and three points.
Georgetown shot 18-for-32 from the free-throw line and 22-for-49 from the floor, while the Lady Tigers shot 38 percent from the floor and went 5-for-22 on three pointers. Caldwell said there were plenty of chances for the Lady Tigers to come back, but they just couldn’t score.
“I thought we had some open looks, and we didn’t knock them down,” Caldwell said. “We had plenty of opportunities to stretch this game out in the second half.”
Despite the loss, Caldwell said the Lady Tigers can get back on track following the first two road losses with so many games still to be played. Caldwell said she sees the spirit in her team and appreciates that it didn’t fold when it was given the chance.
LSU turned it on late in the game. With three minutes left, the Lady Tigers were down nine, tied the game, went back down by six and eventually lost the game by two.
“There was a span there in the second half where we were doing pretty good defensively, but we were turning the ball over,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell said there were eight turnovers in one stretch of the game, and the team just couldn’t bounce back.
“We did what we had to do to come back but then had to do it all over again,” Caldwell said. “There is fight in this team. We just have to put it together for 40 total minutes.”
The Lady Tigers head to Miami to take on West Virginia Friday in Florida International’s Thanksgiving Classic at 7 p.m.
