Earlier in the season, Missouri nearly blew a 21 point halftime lead against LSU, but hung on for its first SEC win. This time in Baton Rouge, Missouri (6-18, 3-8 SEC) couldn’t hold off a strong LSU (17-5, 7-3 SEC) second half, falling 66-58.
As it has for much of the season, Missouri came out strong in the first half against LSU. After two quarters, the Tigers led 38-34 against the third-ranked team in the SEC. The second half was a different story, as cold shooting and poor defense sparked a roaring LSU comeback, outscoring Missouri 32-20.
In the first half, Missouri shot 60% from the field and 58.3% from beyond the arc. The Tigers went frigid in the second half, shooting 26.7% from the floor and 15.4% from deep. Missouri more than doubled LSU’s turnover totals for the game, turning the ball over 16 times to LSU’s 7.
After a relatively high scoring first half, both teams went cold in the third quarter. The period ended 44-44 following a combined total of 16 points scored in the quarter.
As the fourth quarter opened, LSU stormed out in front of Missouri, detonating with an 18-4 run, extending its lead to 14. By the end of the game, the Tigers pulled the lead down to eight but the final buzzer had sounded by that time.
Freshman Aijha Blackwell again stood out for Missouri, finishing as the Tigers’ leading scorer with 12 points and 14 rebounds, recording her second straight double-double and third of her career. Though Blackwell led in scoring, she turned the ball over nine times and fouled out at the end of the fourth.
She led Missouri in scoring for the sixth time in the last seven games, the only exception being Amber Smith pacing the Tigers in points in their loss against Arkansas.
The Tigers face Florida (12-11, 3-7 SEC) on Sunday at home as they seek their fourth SEC win of the season.
_Edited by Eli Hoff | ehoff@themaneater.com_