BATON ROUGE – All-America candidate LaSondra Barrett scored a game-high 17 points -- including LSU's last 10 points of the game -- to lift the Lady Tiger basketball team to its 400th all-time Maravich Center victory by a score of 53-49 over Mississippi State on Thursday night.
LSU (16-8, 6-5 SEC) swept the season series and won its fifth straight game over the Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Tigers are now 400-109 all-time in the building named after the legendary Pistol "Pete" Maravich. After coming off a signature win over No. 5 Kentucky, LSU looked sluggish at times but managed to make plays down the stretch and close out a three-game homestand with a solid defensive effort.
Mississippi State (13-11, 3-8) dropped its fifth consecutive game and fell to 1-21 all-time in Baton Rouge. After shooting 42.3 percent in the first half, LSU cooled the Lady Bulldogs off to 29.2 percent in the second stanza, finishing at 36 percent for the game.
"We knew this was going to be a battle," said LSU head coach Nikki Caldwell. "They're a well-coached team, and they get after you defensively. Obviously we did what we needed to do on the defensive end, but I was very proud of this group for their late game play and coming away with the victory."
Barrett scored 13 points in the second half and displayed tremendous poise down the stretch. The Jackson, Miss., native was 11-of-13 from the free throw line, moving her into a tie for fourth place in LSU career free throws made with 420. Tonight, she tied Julie Gross, who made 420 from 1976-80. Barrett added seven rebounds and surpassed Seimone Augustus for 12th in LSU career rebounds with 731.
"She (Barrett) was able to convert on some plays for us, but when you're going strong to the basket and you're commanding that type of attention, she just used her power game," said Caldwell. "That's the great thing about Barrett, she's so versatile. She can play around the perimeter, but then if we need to bring her inside, we're able to do that as well."
Adrienne Webb reached double figures for the fourth straight game with 10 points. Jeanne Kenney added eight points, dished out four assists and collected three steals.
MSU was led by Diamber Johnson, who finished with 15 points and delivered 10 points in a first half that ended with LSU up 28-25. The Lady Tigers trailed 39-37 when Courtney Jones drained two free throws to tie the game with 8:29 left on the clock. Barrett's layup with 6:18 to go broke the tie and LSU would not relinquish the lead despite a frantic final minute.
Barrett scored LSU's final 10 points from the 4:22 mark on. Her layup and free throw following a foul with 2:03 remaining put the Lady Tigers ahead by six, but two free throws by Johnson and a jumper by Martha Alwal made things interesting. LSU led 49-48 with 35 seconds left in the game.
Barrett made two free throws on the other end and Johnson connected for 1-of-2 for MSU with eight seconds remaining. Barrett then confidently swished two free throws with four seconds on the clock to finish off the 53-49 score.
LSU shot 41.9 percent from the floor and outscored Mississippi State's bench, 27-18. The Lady Tigers, who entered Thursday's play second in the SEC in free throw shooting, shot a solid 15-of-19 from the line.
LSU departs for Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday in preparation for a road game at Alabama at 1 p.m. Sunday. The game will be televised by Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS) and picked up by Cox Sports Television (CST). It will also be streamed online at ESPN3.com.
Information provided by LSU Sports
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