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  Sunday, Feb. 20 3:00pm ET
LSU coach Gunter: 'I am embarrassed'
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- LSU knew what to expect in its second meeting with Tennessee. But once again, the No. 9 Tigers were no match for the Lady Vols (No. 3 ESPN/USA Today; No. 2 AP).

Kara Lawson
Freshman Kara Lawson scored 15 points for the Lady Vols.

Semeka Randall scored 16 points and Kara Lawson added 15 as Tennessee routed LSU for the second time this season, 80-48 Sunday.

The Tigers shot 35 percent from the field and committed 27 turnovers. On Jan. 6 at home, LSU shot 37 percent and had 25 turnovers in a 36-point loss to Tennessee.

"I am embarrassed," LSU coach Sue Gunter said. "I apologize for our performance. Obviously we weren't ready to play. When you turn it over 27 times and your opponent gets 32 points off those turnovers, you are going to lose. If we played them one more time we might stay within 30 points."

Tennessee (23-3, 11-1 Southeastern Conference) put on relentless pressure that caused problems for the Tigers.

"Our defensive play early set the tone," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "We saw on film from the first game that we weren't handling their screens away from the ball as well as we could have. We did a much better job of communicating this time. We challenged the passing lanes and played better one-on-one defense."

The Lady Vols, who also got 14 points from Tamika Catchings, took control with a 15-5 run to open the second half.

Tennessee's full-court press led to numerous turnovers by LSU, which managed just 23 second-half points.

LSU (20-5, 9-3) got 14 points from April Brown and 10 from Marie Ferdinand.

"They came out more aggressive," said LSU's Katrina Hibbert. "They were getting in the passing lanes and we weren't running our offense."

Randall sparked the early second-half run, scoring nine points in the first five minutes as Tennessee pushed the lead to 58-31.

"The first five minutes of the first half and the first five minutes of the second half, we really jumped on them," Randall said. "That helped us generate some offense."

Another scoring drought by the Tigers allowed the Lady Vols to take a 69-38 lead with eight minutes left.

"It's exactly the same offense with the same players," Gunter said when asked why her team struggled with its shooting. "If I knew the answer I would have done something about it. I can think of nothing good to say about this team. LSU is a soft basketball team."

Tennessee enjoyed a 17-6 lead early behind the scoring of Lawson and Catchings, but LSU rallied to within 19-17 with 10:55 left in the first half. Ferdinand sparked the 11-2 run by the Tigers.

The Lady Vols quickly regained control with a 3-point shooting assault that included two 3s by Lawson and one each by Catchings and Randall.

LSU, plagued by turnovers, failed to score during a four-minute stretch midway through the half as Tennessee began pulling away. The Tigers were outscored 24-8 in the final 10 minutes of the first half and trailed 43-25 at halftime.

"Our defense, rebounding and shot selection were better today," Summitt said. "We were aggressive on offense and defense. It was really a great team effort. The intensity was solid in both halves."

 


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