Mar. Theatre
March 5, 2007Harry Smith
March 7, 2007
With a preseason ranking of fifth and the return of three starters, including Glen Davis, few thought that the LSU men’s basketball team would have to win the upcoming SEC Tournament to get into the national tournament.
But that is just what the 16-14 Tigers are faced with after finishing 5-11 in the SEC this season.
LSU takes on Tennessee at 8:45 p.m. CST on Thursday in the first round of the tourney. A Tiger victory would pit them against Ole Miss on Friday at 8:45 p.m. The semifinal games on Saturday are noon and 2:15 p.m., while the championship, which will be televised by CBS, is scheduled for noon on Sunday. All of the other games in the tourney will be televised by Lincoln Financial Sports and be picked up locally by WAFB.
The Tigers ended the regular season with a win against South Carolina on Saturday in Baton Rouge. In the contest, lone senior Darnell Lazare scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Tasmin Mitchell led the Tigers with 21 points, while Davis chimed in with 11 points off the bench.
On Wednesday, LSU fell to Auburn on the road, 80-68. Mitchell led the way with a career-high 24 points. Garrett Temple added 13 points.
LADY TIGERS FALL IN SEC TOURNAMENT FINAL
LSU was looking to make it three revenge wins in a row, but was not able to register a field goal in the last six minutes as it fell to Vanderbilt, 51-45 in the final of the SEC Tournament.
The Lady Tigers had avenged regular-season losses to Ole Miss and Tennessee in the first two rounds on Friday and Saturday.
LSU will now await its seeding in the national tournament, which starts March 17.
The No. 12 Lady Tigers (26-7) got a career-best 19 points from RaShonta LeBlanc. Sylvia Fowles had 13 points and nine rebounds.
LSU finished 15-of-52 (29 percent) from the floor in the game, including 6-of-27 in the second half. Vanderbilt won its second league tournament title over the Lady Tigers and fifth overall, having also beat LSU in 2002.
FOOTBALL TEAM COMPLETES ITS FIRST WEEK OF SPRING PRACTICE
Four practices into spring football drills and LSU coach Les Miles is already impressed with the attitude and approach the Tigers have taken to the field each day.
Miles has been equally as pleased with what has appeared to be a seamless transition on the offensive side of the football with the addition of three new coaches, including offensive coordinator Gary Crowton.
LSU wrapped up the first week of spring football practice on Saturday with a two-hour workout in full pads. The Tigers are scheduled to practice four times this week, which will include 30-minutes of live action on Tuesday followed by the first full scrimmage on Saturday.
The annual spring game is March 24 at Tiger Stadium.
A week under Crowton’s tutelage, Miles said the Tigers are already adapting and responding to the first-year offensive coordinator. Miles said both Matt Flynn and Ryan Perrilloux have both done a nice job of throwing the football during the first week of the spring.
Miles also singled out the play of the wide receivers, in particular Early Doucet and Brandon LaFell. The Tigers return three starters on the offensive line in center Brett Helms, guard Herman Johnson and tackle Ciron Black. Miles said he’s been pleased with the progress of guard Lyle Hitt and tackle Carnell Stewart so far, both of which are former defensive linemen.
SOFTBALL TEAM DROPS A PAIR IN WASHINGTON
After battling back and forth throughout the game, the sixth-ranked LSU softball team came up just short against 14th-ranked Washington, 6-3, on the final day of competition at the University of Washington Tournament Sunday afternoon at the Husky Softball Stadium.
The Tigers (21-3) knew that in addition to a tough opponent, they would be tested because of injuries. LSU is playing with several players out of position and several key players injured.
With both third basemen out with broken fingers, utility player Erika Sluss, who has seen time at five positions in her career, is filling in at third base, but is also not at full speed while dealing with a leg injury. The loss of Shannon Stein at second base shifted Vanessa Soto back to second after playing first through out the 2007 season and sent catcher Kristen Hobbs to first.
Many other players are also battling pretty sever bumps and bruises that almost cost them playing time this weekend as well.
With all of those adversities in play, the Tigers put up a valiant effort against Washington as the pair battled back and forth for much of the game before the Huskies took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth. Four LSU players earned all-tournament team honors, including Roessner, Emily Turner, Leslie Klein and Dee Dee Henderson.
Earlier in the tournament, LSU beat Portland State twice (7-0 and 8-0) before falling to Washington on Saturday, 3-1. The Lady Tigers will play host to McNeese State at 6 p.m. Wednesday before heading to Oxford this weekend to take on Ole Miss on Saturday (1 p.m. and 3 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).
