Someone forgot to tell the LSU Lady Tigers that they were big underdogs this afternoon against the No. 1 UConn Huskies.
The Lady Tigers gave UConn all they could handle before the Huskies were able to pull away in the second half to a 76-63 win in front of 13,922 at the XL Center in Hartford, CT.
The win for the Huskies improves their record to 12-0 while the Lady Tigers drop to 6-5.
Renee Montgomery led 5 Huskies in double figures with 21 points and 6 assists. Maya Moore added a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds to go along with 4 assists and 3 blocks while Tina Charles continued her good play with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Kaili McLaren came off the bench to scored 10 points and Kalana Greene added 10 points as well. The only other Husky to score was Tiffany Hayes who had just 2 points.
LSU was led by Allison Hightower who had 14 points before fouling out. Lasondra Barrett chipped in with 13 points and 6 rebounds before fouling out as well. Ayana Dunning added 12 points and 9 rebounds while Katherine Graham had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
The Lady Tigers came out strong as they battled with UConn through 7 ties and 8 lead changes. LSU’s biggest lead though was only 3 points as the Huskies were able to stay close and eventually take the lead on a Moore jumper. Moore’s jumper started a 15-7 run to close out the first half as UConn enjoyed an 8 point lead at the half at 41-33.
LSU came out strong to start the second half as well using an 8-2 run to cut UConn’s lead to points at 43-41. The Huskies then used a 20-5 run behind Montgomery to open up a 17 point lead. LSU battled back though to get the lead down to 9 but that’s as close as they would get to UConn because of Hightower and Barrett, LSU’s leading scorers, fouling out in the game.
The UConn women will now open Big East play on Tuesday night when they head to the Sun Dome in Tampa to take on the South Florida Bulls. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 PM and the game will be broadcast locally on CPTV.
Notes and musings:
LSU Lady Tigers @ UConn Huskies 1.3.09 box score
The starters were the usual five suspects of Renee Montgomery, Caroline Doty, Kalana Greene, Maya Moore and Tina Charles.
12 former Huskies including Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Ashley Valley and Meghan Culmo were in the crowd today.
With 6 assists, Renee Montgomery became the third person in UConn history with 1,500 points and 500 assists. Diana Taurasi and Jen Rizzotti are the others. She has also made 112 consecutive starts and 122 career starts which are both the highest in the country.
UConn has won 31 consecutive regular-season home games – the nation’s longest active streak.
The Huskies have won 15 consecutive regular season home games against non-conference opponents.
Since the 1995-96 season, the Huskies have made 14 appearances on CBS – posting a 8-6 mark in those games during the regular season. The win today ended a 4-game losing streak on CBS.
UConn shot 46.4% (32-69) while LSU shot 39.7% (23-58).
The Huskies had 19 assists on their 32 made baskets.
UConn shot an abysmal 46.2% (6-13) from the charity stripe.
Both teams had 39 rebounds in the game.
The Huskies committed 11 turnovers while LSU had 16.
The Huskies shot just 24% (6-25) from 3 point land.
