Shantia Owens scores 23 career-high 23 points in 66-59 loss to LSU.
By TIM WHITMIRE
AP Sports Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) (Jan. 20, 2000) — April Brown had 19 points,Marie Ferdinand 17 and Katrina Hibbert 13 as14th-ranked LSU held off a late charge fromKentucky for a 66-59 win Thursday night.
The victory kept the Lady Tigers (13-3, 4-1Southeastern Conference) tied for first place in theSEC and dropped Kentucky (11-6, 3-2) intosecond place three days before a visit from No. 2Tennessee.
LSU took control of the game with an 18-3first-half run that put the Lady Tigers ahead 31-19 -a lead they never relinquished.
Kentucky got to within three points on twooccasions in the second half, and trailed 62-59 onShantia Owens’ one-handed flip shot with 1:02remaining.
LSU, however, was able to convert a third-chanceshot at the other end, as Hibbert drove for a layupwith 24 seconds left, giving the Lady Tigers a64-59 lead. Angelia Crockett tacked on two freethrows for the final margin.
Owens led Kentucky with a career-high 23 points,while Laura Meadows had 11 rebounds. TiffanyWait scored 12 points for the Wildcats.
The Lady Tigers shot 47.3 percent from the floor(26 of 55) but won the game at the line and on the boards, finishing 11-of-13on free-throw attempts and outrebounding the bigger Wildcats by a 36-29margin.
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 scoredthe most 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 afree throw with 4:37 remaining, LSU led 31-19.
In the second half, Kentucky tightened its defense and forced 11 LSUturnovers, but it was not enough.
