University of Tennessee Athletics
LAWSON LEADS LADY VOL RALLY; UT DOWNS LSU, 68-65
February 23, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Feb 23, 2003
By MARY FOSTER
AP Sports Writer
BATON ROUGE, La. - Kara Lawson didn't mind sitting on the bench for nine minutes in the second half. She knew she'd get back in and make the most of it.
Lawson did just that, providing the strong play No. 3 Tennessee needed to rally on the road and beat fourth-ranked LSU 68-65 on Sunday.
"I knew Coach would put me back in, and I think when I get in that situation I'm determined to make the most of every play," Lawson said. "She put me in there to make plays and that's what I did."
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Lawson scored nine of her 12 points in the last five minutes.
"Kara did not play with a lot of energy in the first half," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "I thought she really played conservative, and I wanted her to get more involved defensively or get herself open and make more plays off the dribble for her and her teammates."
Lawson listened.
Tennessee (24-3, 12-0 SEC) has won 15 straight since losing to Connecticut in overtime Jan. 4. LSU (23-2, 10-2) had won eight straight and 17 consecutive home games before Sunday.
Gwen Jackson and Shyra Ely each scored 12 points for Tennessee.
Temeka Johnson led LSU with 18 points, Aiysha Smith had 15, Doneeka Hodges scored 14 and Seimone Augustus added 12.
LSU opened the second half with a 14-8 run to go up 46-38 with 14:44 remaining. Tennessee came back, pulling to 49-48 on a layup by Ely with 10:29 to go.
LSU stretched the lead to four points on back-to-back baskets by Johnson to go up 52-48. The Vols took their first lead of the second half on a layup by Lawson to make it 59-58 Tennessee with 4:03 left.
Tennessee went up 62-60 on a 3-pointer by Lawson, the Volunteers' only 3-pointer of the game. LSU answered with a 3-point basket by Johnson to go ahead 63-62 with 2:05 left, the Tigers' final lead.
Lawson hit a jumper at 1:40 to make it 64-63 Tennessee, then added two free throws, increasing the lead to 66-63 with 24 seconds left. A layup by Johnson pulled LSU to 66-65.
LSU fouled Shanna Zolman, who made both shots, giving Tennessee a 68-65 lead. The Tigers got the ball for the final time with 2 seconds left, but Lawson stole it to seal Tennessee's victory.
"If we're going to have a lead like that, we need to hold on to it," Johnson said. "We knew Lawson was a talent and could make things happen. But we should not have had the breakdowns that allowed her to do that."
LSU set a team record for the fewest turnovers with five. However, two of them were in the final minute.
Hodges' 3-pointer with 5 seconds left gave LSU a 32-30 lead at halftime. Tennessee outrebounded LSU 42-29 for the game.
The Vols lead the series 29-6 and have won five of the last six. LSU defeated Tennessee 81-80 in the semifinals of the 2002 SEC tournament in the teams' previous meeting.
A crowd of 15,217 watched the game, the largest-ever home crowd for the LSU women, and the fourth-largest ever in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. It was also the fourth-largest crowd for a women's game in the SEC this year.
"I think about the 21 years that I've been here and know that I have never seen anything like that before," LSU coach Sue Gunter said.
