The LSU Lady Tigers powered over the No. 10 Tennessee Lady Vols 70-59 for a milestone 900th win in program history powered by a season high in attendance and a milestone game by senior guard Raigyne Louis.
“It is a big win,” Louis said. “It show it goes back further than us, with all that others built. We just try to build off of what they built. The history is bigger than us.”
Louis tallied 18 points to become just the 30th basketball player in LSU history to tally 1500 points and the 14th Lady Tiger to reach such a milestone as she put on a show for the season high 4,333 fans in attendance.
Louis hit the milestone on a three-pointer to tie the game 31-31 in the second half. She totaled 18 points and 8 rebounds for the Lady Tigers (13-6, 5-3 SEC) to reached 1513 career points.
“It is not much to me,” she said. “I just found out after the game. I have to give God the glory for that. I have been here for five years, so I just continue to stay aggressive. I still have some goals I want to complete.”
Despite opening the game with a fast two points, Louis did not reach the milestone until the second half after she went 2-10 from the field in the first half
Louis was not the only Lady Tiger to struggle in the first half. LSU hit a mere 33.3 percent in the first half as Tennessee (17-4, 5-3 SEC) shot 46.4 percent.
The Lady Tigers did manage to keep the Lady Vols from scoring a basket in the final 5:21 seconds as the defensive intensity increased.
Along with the turnaround on defense, a three by freshman Dekeriya Patterson and a two in the waning seconds allowed LSU to close Tennessee’s lead to 31-26.
“We gave up too many touches in the high post,” coach Nikki Fargas said. “We were allowing them to get their transition game. We felt like if we could cancel those two out, they would struggle against our matchup zone and we would have a better chance at winning the game.”
LSU raced out in the second half with a 5-0 run to tie the game. Tennessee responded with a quick 4-0 run before LSU rushed out to a 10-0 run to take a six point lead.
Tennessee would close it down to 45-40 going into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Vols would close LSUs lead to two before the Lady Tigers pulled away.
The Lady Tigers shot 9-for-17 along with a rebounding margin of 14-5 in the final quarter.
Junior guard Chloe Jackson led the way with 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the game, including 14 points in the second half.
“I was just in the mode where I felt like I had the shot and kept knocking them down,” said Jackson.
LSU controlled the points in the paint battle with a 34-22 advantage as LSU held Tennessee’s senior center Mercedes Russell to just 14 points.
Sophomore Ayana Mitchell had a career high 16 rebounds to go with eight points. Mitchell had nine offensive rebounds as LSU pulled in 23 offensive boards compared to just 14 by the Lady Vols leading to a 20-10 edge in second chance points.
“Rebounding is what I hang my hat on,” she said. “I know that is something my teammates need from me. I was not scoring how I wanted to, so I had to do something. I did my part, but our guards did their part.”
The win was the first over a top 10 by the Lady Tigers since 2015 and the Lady Tigers second win over a top 15 team this season.
LSU returns home to hosts No. 21 Georgia on Thursday.
