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Home > SECWB News & More! > NCAA Tournament > LSU Advances to Fifth Straight Sweet Sixteen
LSU Advances to Fifth Straight Sweet Sixteen
by LeAnne Harrington
Posted: March 23rd, 2007 @ 2:24am
Despite scoring their second lowest total of the season, the #3 seed LSU Lady Tigers pulled a come-from-behind win against #11 seed West Virginia, beating the Mountaineers 49-43 to advance to this weekend’s Fresno regional and the round of Sixteen. LSU started the game well, building an early 16-6 lead, but West Virginia coach Mike Carey made adjustments, switching the Mountaineers to a 2-3 zone that both stifled and frustrated LSU center Sylvia Fowles. Each time she got the ball in the paint, she was quickly surrounded by three or four blue jerseys. Her frustration led LSU’s interim head coach Bob Starkey to bench her for a few minutes in the first half, and West Virginia climbed back into the game. They trailed LSU 21-18 at the half.
West Virginia started the second half on a tear, going on a 10-2 run powered by center Olayinka Sanni. Sanni had held Fowles to only 7 points in the first half, and was the main source of Fowles’ frustration. But Sanni picked up her fourth foul at the 15:08 mark and had to go to the bench for nearly 12 minutes. The Mountaineers initially picked up the slack in her absence, leading by 11 with 12 minutes to play in the game. At that point, it looked like the media feeding frenzy and the surrounding pressure might actually be getting to LSU. But big-time players step up to the plate when they are needed the most, and Sylvia Fowles proved why she is one of the biggest of the big timers. Taking advantage of Sanni’s absence, Fowles scored six points in a 12-point LSU run that allowed them to regain the lead. The two teams battled back and forth, trading single point leads for several minutes. With LSU leading by one with under two minutes left, LSU’s RaShonta LeBlanc found Fowles open in the paint for an easy layup and a 46-43 lead. LSU was able to stop West Virginia on its next possession and made 3-of-4 free throws for the final margin. Fowles finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, for the 61st double-double of her career.
If LSU hopes to make it to their fourth straight Final Four, they will need to shake off all the distractions and focus on playing their game. At this point in the tournament, it’s doubtful whether any team will be able to dig themselves into a double-digit hole and crawl out of it. LSU escaped this time; if it happens again, they might not be so lucky.
LSU next faces #10 seed Florida State in the Fresno regional on Saturday, March 24.
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