Check it Out!
February 26, 2007Yvonne Cuneo
March 1, 2007After losing 3-of-4 games to Top 12 teams in the past two weeks, the No. 7 LSU women’s basketball team polished its game and bruised Alabama, 70-27, en route to a first-round bye in this week’s SEC Tournament.
LSU (24-6, 10-4 SEC) finished the season in a third-place tie in the SEC with Vanderbilt, but will be the No. 4 seed in the tournament after losing the head-to-head match-up on Feb. 22. By holding Alabama to the lowest point total by an SEC team in school history, the Lady Tigers earned the right to take Thursday’s first round off. The previous school record for defensive performance in conference play was on Feb. 22, 1986, when LSU beat Florida, 69-34, at the Assembly Center.
Alabama (10-19, 0-14 SEC) finished league play—and 2007—winless.
Sylvia Fowles became the first player in league history to post double doubles in each of the 14 conference games. The 6-foot-6 center finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds in only 17 minutes of action as the Lady Tigers led 46-12 at the half.
Porsha Phillips added 12 points, four rebounds, two blocks and two assists. Allison Hightower had nine points in nine minutes. Erica White had seven assists, all in the first half.
MEN KNOCK OFF DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPS
In one of the most improbable upsets in school history, the unfortunate run of luck by the LSU men’s basketball team ended on Saturday when the squad upset defending national champion Florida, 66-56.
LSU (15-13, 4-10 SEC) got 18 points from Terry Martin and 17 more from Garrett Temple. Florida fell to 25-4 overall and 12-2 in SEC play. The Gators lost for only the second time in their past 20 contests.
The Tigers’ win was a dominating team effort for 40 minutes, as Florida struggled to score from its trademark 3-point shooting.
Earlier in the week, LSU fell 70-63 to Kentucky in Lexington. Tasmin Mitchell led the Tigers with 19 points, while Martin added 16 points. Glen Davis missed both games last week with a leg injury. His status for this upcoming week is unknown. LSU concludes the regular season with a 7 p.m. Wednesday contest at Auburn and then plays host to South Carolina on Saturday at 7 p.m. The SEC tournament, which is being held in Atlanta, is March 8-11.
SOFTBALL TEAM WINS TOURNAMENT
The sixth-ranked LSU softball team earned their seventh Easton Purple & Gold Challenge championship as the Tigers defeated Troy, 13-0 in five innings, and Louisiana Tech, 10-1 in five innings, on Sunday afternoon at Tiger Park.
With the wins, LSU moved to 17-1 on the season and 6-0 in tournament play.
Dani Hofer (7-0) earned Most Valuable Player honors, going 3-0 for the weekend with a no-hitter and three shutouts. In three complete-games, she allowed just three hits and three walks while striking out 29 in 14 innings.
Against Southern Miss on Saturday, she threw her second no-hitter of the season, after allowing only one hit against Southern Miss on Friday. She came out and threw a two-hitter in her final appearance of the weekend against Louisiana Tech.
In addition, Emily Turner, Jazz Jackson and Leslie Klein were named to the all-tournament team. Turner finished 2-0 on the weekend with 20 strikeouts. She threw a one-hitter against Troy in her first outing and allowed just two hits in her finale against Louisiana Tech. Jackson led the tournament with 13 hits and a .722 average, including a double and a triple and four RBIs. Klein led the tournament with 10 RBIs, while hitting .444 with a double, two triples and a home run.
The Tigers were dominant through the tournament, outscoring their opponents, 53-2 in six games. LSU posted five run-rule victories, with only its first game of tournament play going the entire seven innings. Tiger pitching allowed just two runs on seven hits and struck out 62, averaging over 13 strikeouts per seven innings.
LSU was equally as impressive at the plate. The Tigers hit .414 as a team with 11 doubles, five triples and seven home runs. Five players hit over .400 for the weekend as LSU averaged almost nine runs a game.
BASEBALL TEAM WINS SERIES AGAINST CENTRAL FLORIDA
The LSU baseball team improved to 7-3 overall with wins Friday and Saturday against Central Florida in Baton Rouge. The Tigers fell 5-4 in the series finale on Sunday.
The Golden Knights (4-7) won for the first time in seven tries in Baton Rouge.
LSU plays host to Tulane at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the first of two meetings between the teams. LSU second baseman Buzzy Haydel went 2-for-5 with two runs Sunday, and centerfielder Jared Mitchell tallied two more hits and finished 6-for-13 on the weekend.
The Tigers won 4-1 on Friday as Charlie Furbush improved to 2-1 with the victory. Furbush allowed four hits and a run while striking out seven in seven innings. On Saturday, LSU posted a 13-6 victory. In the game, the Tigers had three home runs from Steven Waguespack, Jared Mitchell and Jordan Mayer. Also, Blake Dean was 3-for-3 with three runs batted in. On the mound, Clay Dirks allowed two runs, six hits and struck out seven in six innings.
This weekend, LSU plays host to Lipsomb for a three-game series. Friday’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m., while Saturday’s contest is at 2 p.m. and the series finale on Sunday is set for noon.
FOOTBALL PRACTICE ABOUT TO START
It’s been a little less than two months since LSU wrapped up the 2006 football season with a 41-14 win over Notre Dame in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, but the Tigers will go back to work on Monday as they will hold the first of their 15 spring practices.
LSU, which lost 22 seniors and nine starters from last year’s team that posted an 11-2 overall mark and finished the year ranked No. 3 in the nation, will practice 15 times over the next four weeks capped with the spring game in Tiger Stadium on Saturday, March 24.
Monday’s workout will also serve as the first practice for three new members of the Tiger coaching staff – offensive coordinator Gary Crowton, offensive line coach Greg Studrawa, and wide receivers coach D.J. McCarthy.
Miles said the Tigers will be without a couple players this spring as All-America defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey will sit out the 15 practices to rest his lower leg, while senior offensive guard Will Arnold continues to recover from surgery to both his knee and ankle. Miles said both players will be ready for the fall.
Miles also noted that defensive end Kirston Pittman, who hasn’t seen any game action for the Tigers since the 2004 season, will return to practice for the first time in over a year after battling various injuries as will senior tight end Keith Zinger, who missed the last nine games of the 2006 season with a stomach ailment.
Spring Practice will conclude with the annual Spring Game on March 24 in Tiger Stadium.
