After the LSU women’s basketball team’s four-point loss to Middle Tennessee in 2008, the Lady Tigers fell to 1-3 and were left wondering how they let the game slip away.This season, No. 7 LSU (2-0) emerged from the Middle Tennessee contest with a 61-40 victory, and the team will take that momentum into its two weekend games at home Saturday against Houston (2-0) and Sunday against Nicholls State (0-1).Houston played its third game Thursday night at home against Oregon State.LSU held Middle Tennessee All-American senior forward Alysha Clark to 16 points after she averaged 27.5 points per game last season. LSU coach Van Chancellor said the Lady Tigers’ defensive effort was “one of the greatest I’ve ever seen.””This is as happy as I have been with our team,” Chancellor said. “This is such great strides from this game and this time last year.”On the defensive front, sophomore forward Taylor Turnbow helped LSU’s effort with six defensive rebounds. The Lady Tigers forced 28 turnovers, which led to 31 points.”What happened to us last year with a young team, we didn’t take away anything,” Chancellor said. “We didn’t realize Turnbow would do such a great job. She woke up today and played.”Turnbow said stifling Middle Tennessee’s offense will be crucial to the team’s defensive performance this weekend and down the road.”It was a mental game, being that they beat us the last two games we played them,” Turnbow said. “It was really team defense tonight.”LSU junior guard Katherine Graham said Turnbow’s performance will set the tone for the team defensively this weekend.”[Turnbow] is a great post defender with long arms,” Graham said. “She doesn’t like for anyone to score.”LSU’s most experienced player had a quiet night against Middle Tennessee.Senior guard Allison Hightower left Wednesday’s game more than once with leg cramps. Chancellor said Hightower will be fine, but he said he will have to “limit her” in practice.”We are asking her to go down on the other end and beat the press,” Chancellor said. “Then … every little play we run is run through her. She wants to practice all the time, play all the time.”Hightower was named to the preliminary watch list for the Naismith Trophy on Thursday, which is presented to the national player of the year in women’s college basketball.Houston also won its first two games of the regular season against Gardner-Webb and Texas-Arlington on the road by an average of 13 points.The Cougars averaged 67.4 points per game in 2008, but they were No. 161 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 62.8 points per game.Nicholls State is the second in-state school LSU will face this season. Chancellor is 10-0 against Louisiana opponents during his tenure with the Lady Tigers since 2007. LSU’s 73-point victory against Centenary, 92-19, is the second-largest margin of victory in program history.—-Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]