Jan. 20, 2000
By TIM WHITMIRE
AP Sports Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. – April Brown had 19 points, Marie Ferdinand 17 andKatrina Hibbert 13 as 14th-ranked LSU held off a late charge from Kentucky fora 66-59 win Thursday night.
The victory kept the Lady Tigers (13-3, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) tiedfor first place in the SEC and dropped Kentucky (11-6, 3-2) into second placethree days before a visit from No. 2 Tennessee.
LSU took control of the game with an 18-3 first-half run that put the LadyTigers ahead 31-19 – a lead they never relinquished.
Kentucky got to within three points on two occasions in the second half, andtrailed 62-59 on Shantia Owens‘ one-handed flip shot with 1:02 remaining.
LSU, however, was able to convert a third-chance shot at the other end, asHibbert drove for a layup with 24 seconds left, giving the Lady Tigers a 64-59lead. Angelia Crockett tacked on two free throws for the final margin.
Owens led Kentucky with a career-high 23 points, while Laura Meadows had 11rebounds. Tiffany Wait scored 12 points for the Wildcats.
The Lady Tigers shot 47.3 percent from the floor (26 of 55) but won the gameat the line and on the boards, finishing 11-of-13 on free-throw attempts andoutrebounding the bigger Wildcats by a 36-29 margin.
In the first half, aggressive LSU defense forced 14 turnovers, leading to 14points for the Lady Tigers, who repeatedly penetrated seams in the Wildcats’zone defense for easy baskets. In taking a 39-28 halftime lead, LSU scored themost first-half points of any Kentucky opponent this season.
By contrast, the Wildcats had just three points off seven LSU turnovers inthe half.
Trailing 16-13, LSU went on its big 18-3 run, which included six points byFerdinand and a 3-pointer by Hibbert. When Brown made a layup plus a free throwwith 4:37 remaining, LSU led 31-19.
In the second half, Kentucky tightened its defense and forced 11 LSUturnovers, but it was not enough.
