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Home > SECWB News & More! > NCAA Tournament > 2008 NCAA Tournament Recaps > LSU vs. UNC Recap: The Drive For Five Is Alive and Well
LSU vs. UNC Recap: The Drive For Five Is Alive and Well
by LeAnne Harrington, SECWB.com
Posted: April 1st, 2008 @ 10:30am
Source: Box Score
From the beginning of the 2008 NCAA women’s basketball tournament, the LSU Lady Tigers and their fans have adopted the phrase "Drive For Five" in reference to LSU’s push to become only the second women’s team in NCAA history to make it to five straight Final Fours. Standing in their path was the #1 seed University of North Carolina Tar Heels, seeking their third straight trip to the Final Four and a second national championship to go with the one they won back in 1994. With eight seniors on their roster knowing this is their final chance to win it all, the Lady Tigers were not to be denied, winning this hard fought New Orleans Regional final 56-50.
Everyone knew going in this one would be a battle, with UNC bringing the top scoring offense in the nation (averaging 87.9 points per game) to wage war against LSU’s top defense in the country (limiting opponents to 50.6 points per game). The game was far from pretty, but that’s usually what results when a defensive battle ensues. UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said it best when she summed up the game this way: "It was a very ugly game. I mean, who wants to watch a game 56-50? It was very different than how we normally play ... LSU probably had a lot to do with that." Indeed they did. LSU held the Tar Heels to 33% shooting, allowing them to connect on only 20-of-60 shots from the field, and the Lady Tigers almost completely shut them down from outside the arc where the Tar Heels were a dismal 1-for-9 from three-point range. LSU wasn’t burning up the nets by any means, hitting just 37.7% field goal percentage themselves, but the game was a blueprint of the way the Lady Tigers play ball. LSU’s Player of the Game and Regional Most Outstanding Player Sylvia Fowles said, "Defense has been our bread and butter all year. We knew if we came out here and played defense, our offense would pick up. We've played great defense the last few years." Indeed they have. To Van Chancellor’s credit, when he took over the program last year, he knew not to monkey too much with what was already working. Chancellor has tweaked a few things and opened up the offense, getting more players involved on the scoring end, but other than that -- why change something that works?
The most telling stat of the whole game was UNC’s point total for the game: 50. LSU held them to the exact average they have held teams to all year. But more importantly, it was 21 points below UNC’s previous season low of 71. LSU point guard Erica White, also named to the regional all-tournament team, said, "When you're in a defensive slugfest, it's not going to be pretty. The most important thing is to win and to defend." Another important stat line was the fact that LSU, who came into the game with the fourth-worst free-throw percentage in tournament play, missed their first five free throws of the game, but made 12-of-15 in the last 3:46 of the game. Leading the way was White, who connected on 6-of-6 down the stretch.
LSU’s Fowles and UNC’s Erlana Larkins battled mightily in the post, with Fowles coming away the victor, notching her 85th career double-double with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. UNC was led by LaToya Pringle with almost identical numbers: 21 points and 11 rebounds, with all but two of her points coming in the second half. The difference was Pringle was the only Tar Heel connecting on offense and was their only scorer in double digits; the rest of the team combined for only 10 points in the second half.
Van Chancellor had said during the SEC tourney that his team didn’t celebrate "semifinal" wins - only championships - but Chancellor relented and allowed his team to cut down the nets in New Orleans. Chancellor had said before the game that a trip to the Final Four wasn’t so much a personal goal for him as it was for the team; he didn’t want to be the coach who broke the streak and didn’t get them there. After the game, an obviously relieved and ecstatic Chancellor stated: "All I’ve been hearing is “never been to the Final Four.” You can’t say that about me now!"
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