Three Point 4th Quarter Leads to 54-41 loss to No. 7 Texas A&M

Photo By: Brittney Achord

2/4/2021
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!


COLLEGE STATION, TX: The LSU Lady Tigers would head to College Station hoping to sweep #7 Texas A&M on Thursday night. The Lady Aggies' only loss of the season came three weeks ago in Baton Rouge when LSU pulled a surprising upset 65-61 Overtime victory. LSU will also head into the rematch without Head Coach Nikki Fargas as she will miss her second game in a row due to COVID-19 protocols. Coach Thomas-Swinson will once again lead the team.
LSU would play three competitive quarters, but the Lady Aggies would prove to be too much to handle on their home court as the Tigers would struggle in the 4th quarter, losing 54-41.

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A&M would draw first blood as Jordan Nixon would hit a three point jumper a minute into the contest putting the Aggies up 3-0.
The Lady Tigers would trail over the next three minutes until a jumper by Karli Seay at the 6:32 mark would give LSU their first lead of the game, 6-5. LSU would frustrate A&M for the rest of the quarter playing suffocating defense, while offensively, the Lady Tigers would come up big on several possessions hitting some nice shots to go on a 12-3 run until Zaay Green would hit a jumper at the buzzer for the Lady Aggies to bring the score to 18-10, LSU at the end of the 1st quarter.

Khayla Pointer would start out the second quarter with a hot hand as she would hit two three pointers in the first three minutes of the period to extend the LSU lead to 24-14 with 7:04 on the clock.
But the Lady Tigers would all of a sudden go cold, struggling to score over the next five minutes,
allowing A&M to cut the lead to three, 24-21.
LSU would finally get on the board again as Khayla Pointer would hit one of two free throws with 2:31 left, 25-21.
Faustine Aifuwa would hit a jumper for LSU with :56 seconds remaining, to send us to the half with the Lady Tigers leading 27-21.
The big stats of the first half is one, LSU has out-rebounded A&M on the boards, 18-15. The Tigers are the only team who has been able to out-rebound Texas A&M all season long. Two, a tough LSU defense has forced the Lady Aggies into 12 first half turnovers. A&M averages 14 per game.
Khyala Pointer would lead LSU in scoring at the half with 9 points, while Faustine Aifuwa would add 6 points, and Karli Seay would contribute five.



Over the first four and a half minutes of the 3rd quarter both teams would play even, with LSU still holding onto a six point lead, 31-25 at the 5:31 mark.
Texas A&M however would shift themselves into another gear and go on a 6-2 run over the next two minutes, forcing LSU to call a timeout with 3:39 left in the quarter.
LSU would come out of the timeout responding with a jumper by Aifuwa. But A&M would begin to push the game to an up tempo pace and slowly claw their way back into the lead. Karli Seay would foul Aliyah Wilson on a made fast break basket, sending her the line for a three point play to give Texas A&M the lead, 36-35 with 1:24 left on the clock.
Wilson would sting LSU once more as she would hit a three pointer at the buzzer to extend the Lady Aggies lead to 39-37 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

A&M would blaze into the 4th quarter with two straight three pointers to go up 45-37 two minutes in. LSU would continue to struggle as they would still find themselves scoreless in the final quarter at the 6:23 mark as A&M would build their lead to 49-37.
It was becoming a 4th quarter of missed shots, turnovers, and offensive fouls by the Lady Tigers as with 4:59 to go in the game, they would still be without a 4th quarter point, as A&M had out-scored them 10-0 in the period.
Faustine Aifuwa would hit one of two free throws at the 4:32 mark to finally put LSU on the score board in the quarter, 49-38 A&M. LSU could only manage three total points in the last ten minutes of the contest.
Texas A&M would finish off the Lady Tigers with the final score of 54-41.

With the loss LSU falls to 8-8 overall and 6-4 in the SEC.

Next up the Lady Tigers host Florida on Thursday, Feb. 11th at 6pm in the PMAC... Come out and support these young ladies. They are playing good basketball and are fun the watch....
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