The 15,233 in attendance at the PMAC Thursday night extended the Mardi Gras season for two hours to celebrate LSU’s 68-58 victory over No. 5 Tennessee.
“Everyone always thinks the crowd is great when the game starts — that’s when everybody is excited,” said LSU women’s basketball coach Pokey Chatman after the game. “The crowd is awesome when you have that hollow possession midway through the first half. When you hear them get a little bit louder, the kids get a little bit of pep in their step.
“We could get used to it. If you want to come back, come on back.”
Junior guard Scholanda Hoston buried a 3-point shot with 12:33 remaining to give the Tigers a 42-39 lead.
Top-ranked LSU (22-1, 9-0 Southeastern Conference) never trailed again as the Lady Tigers went on a 20-6 run and led 59-45 with 6:32 left.
Hoston scored 16 points in the game and hit 3-of-7 beyond the arc, all of which came in the second half. She added three blocks and three steals on the defensive end in 40 minutes for the Lady Tigers.
Chatman said Hoston’s aggressive play on defense and timely shots on offense helped propel LSU to victory.
“To come down on the offensive end of the floor and shoot it from [3-point range] and drain it at the time we need it, that’s what upperclassmen do, and that’s what Scholanda’s been doing for us all year.”
LSU shot 57.7 percent from the field in the second half after trailing 28-27 at halftime.
“It was just a matter of time, and once we started clicking and running the offense like we knew how to, it was going to be over then,” Hoston said.
The Lady Vols (18-4, 8-1 SEC) were ice cold, shooting just 31 percent from the field as LSU held star forward Shyra Ely to six points and no rebounds.
“I’m really disappointed that we didn’t compete better,” Tennessee coach Pat Summit said. “I want to give LSU all the credit for how they played and how aggressive they played. You can’t shoot 31 percent and beat a team on the road like this.”
Freshman forward Sylvia Fowles pulled down eight rebounds and blocked five shots, giving LSU a defensive advantage off the bench.
The Lady Vols outrebounded the Lady Tigers, 44-35, but LSU outscored UT 34-14 in the paint.
Chatman said that aggressive play in the post gave LSU the advantage it needed.
“We didn’t win the war on the boards, but we won the war in the paint,” Chatman said. “The thing that this particular team has always hung their hat on has been their half-court defense. That’s what separated us tonight.”
LSU started the game with a 7-0 lead sparked by a Seimone Augustus jumper.
Augustus led all scorers with 25 points.
The Lady Vols battled back within 7-5 at the 15:09 mark in the first half, but Augustus capped an 8-0 run, driving by Ely and scoring on a layup to give the Tigers a 15-5 lead at the 11:15 mark.
UT guard Sade Wiley-Gatewood buried a pair of 3-pointers, including a buzzer-beater to give the Lady Vols a 28-27 lead at halftime.
Chatman said the team never thought the Lady Vols held the edge mentally or physically, and it resulted in a second-half explosion.
“It was a matter of doing the things we did not do in the first half,” Chatman said. “They understood that was more LSU and less Tennessee, and they corrected it.”