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Home > SECWB News & More! > NCAA Tournament > Recaps > Chaney Second in Command for LSU (LSU v. Florida State recap)
Chaney Second in Command for LSU (LSU v. Florida State recap)
by LeAnne Harrington
Posted: March 26th, 2007 @ 1:22am
Florida State knew what they had to do against #3 seed LSU: figure out a way to shut down powerful center Sylvia Fowles, one of the most dominant centers in the game today. What the Seminoles didn’t count on was Quianna Chaney taking over as second in command. In a game that was not the prettiest we’ve seen in the tournament so far, LSU was able to grind out a victory over a scrappy Florida State team, winning 55-43 to advance to the Elite Eight and a date with UConn Monday night.
The 6’6” Fowles was double and triple teamed every time she touched the ball, but the risk you run when defending a dominant player that way is leaving other players to take open shots. Chaney, a junior guard, took advantage of the scoring opportunities she was given and scored a game-high 22 points for the Lady Tigers in 28 minutes of play. "That makes all the difference in the world, especially when you're playing somebody that gives Sylvia so much attention," LSU acting coach Bob Starkey said. "They had two or three guys on her. I thought Quianna did a tremendous job finding the open seams. It wasn't like Florida State didn't know she was capable of scoring. Quianna did a great job moving without the basketball." But it was Fowles who still commanded the game; any player who requires a team to structure their entire defense around her play is a game-changer. Fowles finished the game with 20 points and 9 rebounds. The only chink in Fowles’ armor was free throw shooting: she connected on only 6 of 13 shots from the line.
The final score was not really indicative of how ugly this game was. LSU raced out to a comfortable lead in the first half, when the ‘Noles went nearly 11 minutes without a score. But LSU suffered through a scoring drought of their own that lasted 6 minutes, and Florida State only trailed 27-18 at the half. The second half was not much prettier, but when Florida State proved unable to climb out of the hole they had dug for themselves, LSU basically coasted the rest of the way. The Lady Tigers only outscored the Seminoles 28-25 in the second half. Florida State shot just 35% for the game and committed 20 turnovers. Their 43 point total was the lowest they had scored all season.
Sue Semrau’s Seminoles, despite coming up short in this game, are on the right track to producing a winning basketball tradition at a school long known to be football mad. Semrau said, "The last few weeks we really developed an identity for our program. Now we know what it will take to get us past the sweet 16."
Fowles is just an unbelievably likeable kid. She may be 6’6” but she runs the floor like a guard and has some of the softest hands in the game, men or women. She can take a bullet pass into the paint and power up with authority, only to lay it off the glass like she’s freeing a bird. She uses those hands to express herself in other ways, as she is a talented artist who is working on a painting for former teammate Temeka Johnson’s house in Baton Rouge. I also admire the way she has handled the media with aplomb, the only player to speak openly about her continued respect for Pokey Chatman. Interim head coach Starkey, a self-professed Xs-and-Os guy, still dislikes speaking to the media and admits he doesn’t even like to talk during time-outs. That’s ok, Bob. Sylvia’s got it covered, and she still has a lot left to say.
LSU meets UConn in the Fresno regional final Monday night. The game will be televised on ESPN2 at 9 PM (EST).
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