Lady Vols fall to fifth in SEC, 63-61

BATON ROUGE, La. — Tennessee overcame a misspent first half Thursday night.

Overcoming LSU was a different matter.

After the Lady Vols erased a 15-point halftime deficit, Katherine Graham’s two free throws with 7.9 seconds left enabled the Lady Tigers to escape with a 63-61 SEC women’s basketball victory before a crowd of 6,035 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Tennessee’s last possession ended with Glory Johnson being tied up by LSU center Kristen Morris.

“We knew we didn’t have a lot of time,’’ UT coach Pat Summitt said. “We wanted to at least get a look at it. We couldn’t get a look at it. They had a lot of pressure on us.”

LaSondra Barrett led LSU (16-9, 9-4 SEC) with 18 points. Allison Hightower scored 14 and Graham had 12.

Hightower didn’t score in the second half and missed nine minutes with leg cramps. Yet LSU still survived.

“We lost our best player and we found a way to beat a really good team and a really good coach,’’ LSU coach Van Chancellor said.

Angie Bjorklund scored 21 points for No. 18 Tennessee (19-9, 8-5). Fifteen came in the second half, including two game-tying free throws with 1:04 left. But she was called for the foul that set up Graham’s game-winning free throws.

With the loss, the Lady Vols tumbled into fifth place in the conference standings. They face a first-round game next week in the SEC tournament.

Graham had won a game before with pressure free throws. But that was back in middle school.

“That was so long ago,’’ she said, smiling, “totally different.”

The dribble drive by Graham that pointed her to the free throw line was made possible by 5-foot-8 teammate Latear Eason. Her offensive rebound saved what appeared to be a lost trip down the court. From Summitt’s vantage point, the play was a reflection of the game.

“I thought they played one through five with a lot more energy for 40 minutes,’’ she said. “Obviously we had a lot of energy in the second half.”

Summitt complimented Chancellor by saying, “He’s done a great job with a young basketball team. It appears he’s done a much better job than I have.”

Morris, who was honored beforehand as LSU’s lone senior, set a physical tone by setting an early screen on Johnson that sent the Lady Vols freshman tumbling to the floor in pain and then to the bench.

Tennessee had four of its 21 turnovers, including two shot clock violations, before the first media timeout. Bjorklund compounded one of them with a pass that led Cain directly into a collision and a tangle of bodies on the floor. The 6-foot-6 redshirt freshman went out after her leg got bent awkwardly underneath her.

Johnson and Cain eventually returned and UT rallied to within 21-14. But the Lady Tigers responded in short order, leading by as many as 18 points, 35-17.

At the break, Tennessee’s 35-20 deficit was directly related to its 15 turnovers, which played a part in 17 LSU points.

“You’d think we’d learn by now we can’t come out flat and think we can win in the second half,’’ Bjorklund said.

That was the only strategy left to them, however, and they made the most of it.

After Morris picked up her third foul and went out early in the second half, Cain — who scored 12 points and made all six of her field goal attempts — made three consecutive baskets.

The Lady Vols hit their first six shots of the half and pulled to within 35-29 before LSU stopped their charge.

UT wasn’t done rallying, however. Its next comeback was aided by Hightower going out. A free throw by Shekinna Stricklen, who scored 18 points, pulled Tennessee to 47-44 with 11:12 left.

A Stricklen 3-pointer pulled UT even at 51 with 8:32 left.

LSU’s players said the ending conjured memories of last season’s dramatic national semifinal game between the two teams, which ended with Alexis Hornbuckle’s rebound basket for a 47-46 UT victory.

Summitt had no such recollections.

“We are so not the team that played in Tampa,’’ she said.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!