The LSU women’s basketball team rallied the entire second half at Hampton University to erase a 17-point halftime deficit, but ultimately fell, 67-58, to the Lady Pirates on Friday night.

LSU (1-1) outscored Hampton (3-0) 40-32 in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to undo Hampton’s 19-0 first half run that gave the Lady Pirates a 35-18 halftime lead. Throughout the game, the Lady Pirates scored 21 points on 22 Lady Tiger turnovers.

LSU junior forward Theresa Plaisance, who earned her first career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, led LSU along with freshman guard Danielle Ballard and senior guard Bianca Lutley who both scored 13 points.

Hampton senior forward Keiara Avant added a double-double of her own with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Lady Pirate junior guard Nicole Hamilton put together 10 assists, nine points and four blocks.

“I thought Hampton did a great job setting the tone early for their team,” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell. “Avant did a great job for their team and on the boards.”

Caldwell said fouls are still an issue for LSU, who allowed Hampton to shoot 24 free throws Friday, 21 of them in the second half.

In the second half, Hampton only shot 29 percent from the floor, going 7-for-24, but converted 81 percent of its free throws.

“What really hurts is when a team is shooting 80 percent from the free-throw line and they’re able to score a third of their points from the free-throw line,” Caldwell said.

She said the Lady Tigers need to match their opponents’ intensity by boxing out, limiting fouling, and adjusting to the referees when needed.

The Lady Tigers’ next action comes at 6 p.m. Monday night at Georgetown.

Georgetown (2-1) goes into the game against LSU after a 63-48 loss at North Carolina. The Lady Hoyas were led by senior guard Sugar Rodgers, who had 22 points and five assists against the Lady Tar Heels.

In last season’s game against Georgetown, LSU won 51-40 in the PMAC. In that contest, Rodgers tallied 10 points and four rebounds.

Rodgers is the only returning contributor from the Lady Hoyas team that visited Baton Rouge a year ago. Plaisance, Lutley, junior guard Jeanne Kenney and senior guard Adrienne Webb added to the stat line in the Lady Tigers win last year.

Heading into Monday night’s game at Georgetown, Caldwell said she wants her team to refocus and recover from the loss to Hampton.