LSU women roll past Jackson State
Jeanne Kenney matched a career-high with 22 points highlighted by a career-best six 3-pointers as the No. 16 LSU women's basketball team returned from its holiday break and claimed a 72-45 victory over Jackson State Monday at the Maravich Center.
The Lady Tigers (10-2) pushed their home winning streak to 11 consecutive games and have won all six of their home decisions this season by an average of 21.7 points per game. LSU also secured its eight consecutive victory over Jackson State (2-8) dating back to the 1994-95 season.
For Kenney, the 22 points tied a career-high, which Kenney set during LSU's 77-72 victory over No. 7 Kentucky last season. She also tacked on four assists and three steals over her 24 minutes of action.
Raigyne Moncrief secured 13 points en route to her ninth double-figures scoring output on the season. Returning to the starting lineup, Theresa Plaisance turned in a solid all-around game with 10 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Shanece McKinney provided eight points and three rebounds, while Danielle Ballard came away with six points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals.
As a team, LSU was 22-of-51 from the field, which included a 6-for-11 mark from 3-point range. The Lady Tigers distributed 18 assists on their 22 field goals and were 22-for-32 at the foul line. Seven players recorded assists for LSU.
Jackson State tallied a 17-of-47 shooting clip, missing 14 of its 18 3-point attempts. The Lady Tigers were able to hit 7-for-11 from the free throw line.
LSU misfired on 22 of its first 27 field goal attempts over the first 14 minutes of the opening half. A Kenney triple ignited the Lady Tigers to 17-6 finishing kick over the final 6:09. The Lady Tigers also received baskets from Moncrief, Plaisance and Derreyal Youngblood.
Kenney buried two more 3-pointers during the run, which included one at the buzzer to give LSU a 33-24 halftime advantage.
The Lady Tigers carried that momentum into the second half and drilled their first seven field goal attempts capped by consecutive lay-ups from Plaisance and Moncrief to extend their lead to 52-32 at the 15:29 mark.
Moncrief picked up 11 of her 13 points, and LSU finished with an efficient 12-for-23 clip during the second half. The Lady Tigers limited Jackson State to only two field goals over the final 8:07 to put the finishing touches on the 72-45 win.
LSU begins SEC action on Thursday and travels to face No. 5 Tennessee. Tip time is slated for 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be carried by Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) along with www.WatchESPN.com.