Lady Tigers Upset No. 7 Texas A&M in an Unrelenting Overtime Battle

Photo By: Brittney Achord

1/15/2021
By: Brittney Achord
Da Boot Sports!



    BATON ROUGE: The Lady Tigers brought the #7 ranked Lady Aggies’ 12 game winning streak to a halt on Thursday night in an intense 45 minute game. The 65-61 upset overtime victory now has LSU at 5-6 on the season, 3-2 in the SEC.

   Sophomore Tiara Young had an unforgettable night with a career-high 20 points and four rebounds. Per Coach Fargas in her postgame interview, “She showcased why she's going to become one of the best players in our league.”

   For the sixth time this season and 15th in her career at LSU, Senior Faustine Aifuwa had an outstanding double-double game with 16 points, 11 rebounds, while adding three blocked shots. 

   Senior Khayla Pointer continued to dominate the court both offensively and defensively scoring 17 points, grabbing seven rebounds and six assists. Pointer now with 394 career assists, moves up to No. 8 on the LSU career assist list, surpassing former Tiger, Rhonda Hawthorne (1982-1986), who had 391 total career assists.

   Senior Karli Seay also dominated both offensively and defensively with eight points, four rebounds, three assists, and five steals.

LSU’s first half had a season high of 34 points and shot 48.3% from the floor for the game. 



   Here is the ‘Da Boot Sports’ Game Break Down:



          1st HALF:

   The Lady Tigers preyed on the Lady Aggies for a full 45 minutes during this great SEC battle. Only 23 seconds into the game, Rakell Spencer had the crowd on their feet with a brutal block allowing Faustine Aifuwa to grab the defensive rebound.  Tiara Young would put the first of many points on the board for the Lady Tigers with a jumper inside the paint. Khayla Pointer would follow with a 3-point shot to put the Tigers ahead of the Aggies 5-4 early in the game.
   LSU would go on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes of the first quarter.  Karli Seay would make a  beautiful jumper to put the Tigers up 15-10 with 1:22 left to go.  A&M would answer back with a jumper, but it was Young’s buzzer shot that left the PMAC booming and the Lady Tigers up 17-12 going into the second quarter.

   Tiara Young would be the first to add to the Tigers lead with a jumper inside the paint only 33 seconds into the second quarter. 
   The Lady Aggies would continue to struggle to get the ball moving offensively, While three minutes into the second quarter, Seay would score a layup on a fast break to bring the lead to double digits, 25-14.
   The Lady Tigers would continue their relentless defensive pressure only allowing the Lady Aggies five points half way into the second quarter.
   With four minutes remaining, a steal by Spencer, followed by a layup by  Ajae Petty and an assist by Sarah Shematsi gave LSU their biggest lead of the night at 17. 
  The Lady Tigers were dominating the Lady Aggies 34-17, something no other opponent has been able to accomplish this season against the Aggies.
   A&M would however finish the half strong with a 9-0 run closing the gap to 34-26 going into the halftime break.




          2nd HALF:

   Less than 30 seconds into the 3rd quarter, Faustine Aifuwa would score on a layup bringing the lead back to double digits.  LSU would struggle to keep their momentum as the Aggies closed the lead to within four points with 4:14 left in the 3rd period.
   A 30-second timeout by the Tigers brought them back to life with a 6-0 run by Young and Pointer.
  This time it would be Destiny Pitts for A&M who would answer back with a 3-point shot at the buzzer bringing the score to 39-46.  While LSU still held the lead, their fire was starting to fizzle. 

   The fourth quarter was a gruesome battle up and down the court by both teams. The Lady Tigers struggled to keep scoring allowing the Lady Aggies to come within one point with just over 3 minutes left in the game.
   Pointer would quickly answer back with a layup giving the Tigers a three point lead, 52-49.
   With 49 seconds left in the game the Destiny Pitts would put up a 3-point shot that gave the Aggies their first lead since the 1st quarter. 
   Aifuwa ferociously answered back with a jumper inside the paint with five seconds left on the clock that tied things up 54-54. A steal by Jailin Cherry with three seconds remaining, would send the game into overtime.




          OVERTIME:

   Tiara Young would quickly score on a jumper, followed by a 3-pointer by Pointer, and assist by Cherry, followed by a free throw by Aifuwa to give the Tigers a 6-0 run and the lead, 60-54.
   The only points LSU would allow the Lady Aggies so far in the extra period would be from the free throw line as the Lady Tigers refused to back down from this fight.
   With nine seconds left, Aggies Destiny Pitts would hit a 3-point shot that put the Aggies within two points, 61-63. 
   With the crowd on their feet, it was Khaya Pointer who scored a layup on a fast break to give the Tigers a  65-61 victory. 



   The Lady Tigers are definitely beginning to find their rhythm. LSU scored 38 points in the paint, 16 from turnovers.  They held the 12-0 Lady Aggies to 26 points in the first half, which only one other opponent has been able to do this season. They outscored the A&M 11-7 in overtime. Again, something no other opponent has been able to do this season.  Even with foul trouble early in the game, the Lady Tigers set out on a mission to dominate this game and that they did. It was a huge conference win for Coach Nikki Fargas and her team. 
   
   Up next, the Lady Tigers will head to Columbia, MO to take on the Mizzou Tigers on Monday, January 18th at 6:00 pm. The game will be televised on SEC Network and radio broadcast will be on 107.3 FM.


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