No. 14 UGA tops Lady Tigers in OT, 49-46

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Hightower’s game-high 22 points not enough in defensive struggle

Photo of Allison Hightower, at left, courtesy of Steve Franz/LSU.

Tiger Rag News Services

LSU’s Katherine Graham missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds as No. 14 Georgia outlasted the 19th-ranked Lady Tigers, 49-46, in overtime on Thursday night in Stegeman Coliseum.

LSU (15-6) lost for the fifth time in the past seven games and fell to 4-5 in Southeastern Conference play. The Lady Tigers stand in ninth place with seven games remaining in the regular season prior to the SEC Tournament.

Georgia (19-4, 6-4 SEC) snapped a three-game losing streak and avoided losing four straight games for just the second time in Andy Landers’ coaching career. The Lady Bulldogs also ended a two-game losing skid to the Lady Tigers and moved into a third-place tie with Mississippi State and Vanderbilt in the league standings.

“We played as hard as we could,” LSU head coach Van Chancellor said. “Our defense was the old LSU defense tonight, but we couldn’t make a shot when we needed to. If you can’t score, it’s hard to win in this league. We were 1-for-9 in overtime. I thought Destini Hughes and Taylor Turnbow were outstanding defensively. This is a good Georgia team. We just couldn’t get it to go in when we needed to.”

Senior guard Allison Hightower scored a game-high 22 points - nearly half of LSU’s point total - in a valiant effort. Hightower tallied her third straight 20-point game, becoming the first Lady Tiger since Sylvia Fowles in 2008 to achieve the feat. She finished 9-of-20 from the floor and contributed eight rebounds.

Graham finished with six points. Georgia’s Jasmine James scored the final three points in overtime and finished with 15 for the game. LSU was just 1-of-9 from the floor in the final five minutes and the Lady Tigers finished the game at 27.3 percent against Georgia’s zone defense.

Hightower scored the first points of overtime but Porsha Phillips answered with a layup and a pair of free throws to put Georgia back in front. Graham was able to tie the game with two free throws to make it 46 all with 1:39 to play but James converted a layup on the next possession.

LaSondra Barrett threw an errant pass that led to a turnover and James made one of two free throws on the other end with 39 seconds to play in overtime. Hightower missed a 3-pointer at the top of the key, but LSU was still alive with nine seconds to go when Phillips missed two free throws with the game 49-46 in favor of Georgia.

Following a timeout, Graham’s 3-pointer from the right elbow bounced off the rim as Georgia gathered the rebound when time expired.

The game featured nine lead changes and seven ties. Georgia led by four points with 7:33 left in regulation when LSU managed to tie the game at 38 apiece following a Hightower layup. The teams combined to go the final 4:03 without a field goal. Barrett missed a go-ahead jumper in the on the right baseline in the final 10 seconds after Phillips lost the ball on the other end.

Ashley Houts’ desperation halfcourt heave drew nothing but glass and LSU went to its third overtime game of the season with the score tied at 42 apiece.

Hightower rattled off 10 of LSU’s first 12 points in the first half. Her 3-pointer from the left wing - her seventh straight game with a trey - gave the Lady Tigers a 12-8 advantage with 13:06 in the first half. The lead grew to eight on Latear Eason’s layup that culminated a 7-0 LSU run.

With LSU in front 18-10, the Lady Bulldogs mounted a 13-4 rally to take a 23-22 halftime lead. Meredith Mitchell buried a 3-pointer and Angel Robinson recorded her first points on a layup that erased the deficit to 22-21. On the ensuing possession, Destini Hughes lost the ball out of bounds and Robinson gave Georgia its first lead on a turnaround jumper with three seconds left in the half.

The Lady Bulldogs defense held LSU to just two field goals in the final nine minutes of the period. Hightower was double-teamed the remainder of the half and unable to score.

LSU will play in the inaugural “GPA Game” to honor education at 1 p.m. CST Sunday when the Lady Tigers host Ole Miss in the Maravich Center. The “Grades, Perseverance, Education” program was established as a partnership between LSU women’s basketball and the East Baton Rouge Parish School System last summer.