Rabalais: LSU win battle of wills, talent
Scott can be reached by e-mail at srabalais@theadvocate.com or by phone at (225) 388-0441.
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The evening chill was beginning to descend over the LSU campus outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center as the Lady Tigers and Marist went to halftime.
Inside, it was as sweaty as any July night on the bayou.
LSU led upstart Marist by only two, 29-27, at the break and it could have been tied had the Red Foxes’ Rachele Fitz been a little quicker to the rim with a layup that came after the buzzer.
This was your classic David vs. Goliath encounter. Earlier in the day, the Marist team took a tour of Tiger Stadium. The entire Marist campus north of New York City could probably fit inside Death Valley, with a couple of skyboxes to spare.
Was this how it was going to end for this seasoned, veteran LSU team, a bunch of seniors who had only lost in the PMAC to Connecticut and Tennessee? A BCS superpower done in by a tiny liberal arts college from, where, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.?
In a word, no. Marist hadn’t won 32 games this season for nothing. The Red Foxes were smart, disciplined, determined.
But they didn’t have Sylvia Fowles, right Geno Auriemma? And they sure didn’t have a point guard like Erica White, who turned the tide firmly LSU’s way with 13:24 remaining by stretching her 5-foot-3 body to block a shot by Marist’s Julianne Viani and driving for a layup to give the Lady Tigers a 42-34 lead.
It was the beginning of the end for Marist. The Red Foxes tried hard, but became weary trying to build screens for shots that LSU broke down, and trying to get enough players into the paint to stop Fowles from launching herself toward the basket with impunity. Her line: 19 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks.
“We told them at halftime, if they put seven around her, bring two off the bench, get her the ball,” LSU coach Van Chancellor said. “I think they had everybody on the team around her. None of them can stop her.”
In a battle of wills plus talent, LSU finally took charge. It wasn’t easy, but this is the NCAA tournament and it’s usually hard. Last year in a second-round game in Austin, the Lady Tigers trailed West Virginia by 11 with 12:22 remaining before Quianna Chaney’s 3-pointer sparked a 49-43 comeback victory on the road to the Final Four.
After the game, the Lady Tigers took a victory lap around the PMAC, slapping hands and high-fiving with fans like the LSU baseball team used to do when it won (and played) in regionals.
It was a nice moment, trumped about a half hour later when the Marist players came out to sit with their families to watch the Texas A&M-Hartford game. The LSU fans that remained gave them a standing ovation for their play, a big change from being called “Tiger bait” by a young LSU fan after Easter church services Sunday.
Marist can go to church in Poughkeepsie next Sunday. LSU is moving on. Tested, but still triumphant.
Inside, it was as sweaty as any July night on the bayou.
LSU led upstart Marist by only two, 29-27, at the break and it could have been tied had the Red Foxes’ Rachele Fitz been a little quicker to the rim with a layup that came after the buzzer.
This was your classic David vs. Goliath encounter. Earlier in the day, the Marist team took a tour of Tiger Stadium. The entire Marist campus north of New York City could probably fit inside Death Valley, with a couple of skyboxes to spare.
Was this how it was going to end for this seasoned, veteran LSU team, a bunch of seniors who had only lost in the PMAC to Connecticut and Tennessee? A BCS superpower done in by a tiny liberal arts college from, where, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.?
In a word, no. Marist hadn’t won 32 games this season for nothing. The Red Foxes were smart, disciplined, determined.
But they didn’t have Sylvia Fowles, right Geno Auriemma? And they sure didn’t have a point guard like Erica White, who turned the tide firmly LSU’s way with 13:24 remaining by stretching her 5-foot-3 body to block a shot by Marist’s Julianne Viani and driving for a layup to give the Lady Tigers a 42-34 lead.
It was the beginning of the end for Marist. The Red Foxes tried hard, but became weary trying to build screens for shots that LSU broke down, and trying to get enough players into the paint to stop Fowles from launching herself toward the basket with impunity. Her line: 19 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks.
“We told them at halftime, if they put seven around her, bring two off the bench, get her the ball,” LSU coach Van Chancellor said. “I think they had everybody on the team around her. None of them can stop her.”
In a battle of wills plus talent, LSU finally took charge. It wasn’t easy, but this is the NCAA tournament and it’s usually hard. Last year in a second-round game in Austin, the Lady Tigers trailed West Virginia by 11 with 12:22 remaining before Quianna Chaney’s 3-pointer sparked a 49-43 comeback victory on the road to the Final Four.
After the game, the Lady Tigers took a victory lap around the PMAC, slapping hands and high-fiving with fans like the LSU baseball team used to do when it won (and played) in regionals.
It was a nice moment, trumped about a half hour later when the Marist players came out to sit with their families to watch the Texas A&M-Hartford game. The LSU fans that remained gave them a standing ovation for their play, a big change from being called “Tiger bait” by a young LSU fan after Easter church services Sunday.
Marist can go to church in Poughkeepsie next Sunday. LSU is moving on. Tested, but still triumphant.
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