Women’s Hoops Loses Opener To BYU

Photo: LSUsports.net

11/28/2020
By: Judy Willson
LSU Sports Information



​ Women’s Hoops Loses Opener To BYU

LAS VEGAS --- The LSU women's basketball team lost to BYU in the 2020-21 season opener, 67-51.

Senior Awa Trasi led the Tigers with 15 points, while senior Karli Seay recorded a career-high 12 points. Redshirt senior Faustine Aifuwa earned her first double-double of the season and the 10th of her career with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Aifuwa made the first three-pointer of her LSU career with 2:42 left in the second quarter.

Five players made their LSU debuts versus BYU – Sarah Shematsi, Ajae Petty, Sharna Ayres, Destini Lombard and Treasure Thompson.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• LSU started five seniors for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
• BYU jumped out to a 6-0. After an official’s timeout due to a shot clock malfunction, the Tigers came back out strong and cut the lead to 6-4 at the first media timeout.
• Faustine Aifuwa tied it up at 6-6 with a jumper for the only tie of the game.
• Awa Trasi went 4-5 early in the game and helped keep the Tigers within two points, with the score at 12-10 at the end of the first quarter.
• In the second quarter, a made three from Pointer put the Tigers back on the board at 17-13. At the second quarter media timeout, BYU held a 12 point lead at 25-13.
• Aifuwa’s first career three-pointer and a jumper from Seay cut the lead to 10. After a hard-fought half, BYU led 34-20 at halftime.
• A steal from Pointer and pass to Seay on a fast break gave the Tigers the first points on the board in the second half. Aifuwa and Trasi both go 2/2 on the line for their first free throws of the season and cut the lead back down to 13. At the third quarter media timeout, the Tigers trailed by 10 with a score of 42-32.
• With one more quarter to go, BYU held the lead at 50-38. Seay heated up with a made jumper putting her at 12 points. The Tigers trailed 61-49 at the fourth quarter media timeout with 4:49 remaining in the game and fell to BYU with a final score of 67-51.

UP NEXT
LSU will be back in South Point Arena for the second game of the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout tournament against West Virginia. The game is at 5:45 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on South Point live stream linked to the LSU Sport Radio Network call. Live stats will be available.



Head Coach Nikki Fargas Post Game Quotes

On how excited the team was to start playing this game and open the season…

“I thought we did a good job in coming back in the first quarter. We dug ourselves a hole in the beginning. We didn’t get off to the start I thought we would, but a lot of credit to BYU. I thought (Shaylee) Gonzales did a really good job of picking us apart. I felt like our offense was dictating how we played defensively, and you can’t allow that to happen, especially on the road. We didn’t shoot the ball extremely well in the second quarter and that’s when they separated themselves. From that point on, we played even. You can’t have a quarter where they’re +10. That’s the game right there. We weren’t getting the stops we needed, and they were scoring. We’ve got to turn around now and play a very good West Virginia team that understands scoring and transitions. This was not one of our better performances, but again we’re still early, first game of the season, and we’ve got to turn this around immediately and get ready to go tomorrow.”

On the team going into the game and drawing fouls and how that affected Hanson not being a factor…

“We had an opportunity there to establish ourselves. When a team is doubling on calls, we have got to have perimeter players that are ready to knock down shots. We weren’t able to do that. We weren’t able to get any scoring off of our bench plays and our starters didn’t shoot a great percentage either. That’s an area of concern for us right now; to be able to turn a team over 24 times and not be able to convert off of those turnovers. I thought there was an opportunity there, especially in the third quarter, that our defense was picking up and we got it to a single digit lead, and then we would turn the ball over. And then we would get it to a single digit lead and give up a three. Those plays are what you call backbreakers, and that happened several times. This is a 40-minute game and we tell our kids all the time that they have to be ready and locked in from the tip to the sound of the buzzer. That’s an area, when you’re looking at the veterans, that I’m going to challenge them to be better leaders on the floor and make sure defensively that we’re more locked in to guarding people.