Lady Tigers and PMAC decked out in Pink for a great cause

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LSU's win over Vanderbilt was important to the Lady Tigers in building their post-season resume. But it also was their annual Pink Zone game which saw the both teams, fans, cheerleaders and the band decked out in pink -- even Mike the Tiger got in on the action.

The WBCA Pink Zone initiative is a global, unified effort for the WBCA's nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The window set aside for this year's initiative is February 12-21. The WBCA's charity of choice is the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund®, in partnership with The V Foundation.

Donations were accepted at the game benefitting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Donors could pledge a chosen amount for each point scored by the Lady Tigers or they could donate a flat amount that they saw fit
 
Admission for LSU students was free of charge with a valid LSU ID. LSU women's basketball will donate $1 to Baton Rouge area cancer research for each LSU student in attendance on Thursday night. LSU associate head coach Bob Starkey had also announced that he and his wife Sherie, a breast cancer survivor, are donating $1 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure for every LSU student in attendance at Thursday's game.

 

Filed under  //  Community   Marketing & Promotions  
Posted by Bill Martin  

LSU grabs 200th career SEC win over Vanderbilt

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"We Just wanted to come and get the win at home.
We wanted to reclaim our house back.
We owed it to our fans, our families, and
everyone who comes out here and supports us."

-Allison Hightower

BATON ROUGE -- Four LSU players reached double-figures, and the 23rd-ranked Lady Tigers held No. 20 Vanderbilt to its lowest point total ever as LSU claimed its 200th all-time Southeastern Conference victory by a score of 55-39 in a Women's Basketball Coaches Association "Pink Zone Game" on Thursday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
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The Lady Tigers (18-7, 7-6 SEC) won their third straight SEC game by a double-digit margin and jumped from sixth to a tie for fourth place with Vanderbilt and Georgia in the league standings.
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Katherine Graham led the way with 15 points and nine rebounds, one shy of a double-double. Graham was recognized prior to the game for just the third triple-double in LSU history in her last home game against Ole Miss. Allison Hightower added 13 points and Lasondra Barrett scored 11 points and dished out a career-high seven assists.

"They ran their matchup, and any time Allison (Hightower) went through, they played her man, and when she caught the ball, everybody in the world was on her," Chancellor said. "I thought all the players did a great job or countering that. (Katherine) Graham gave us some points early. Then, (LaSondra) Barrett and Jones gave us some. I thought Destini Hughes' defense was really good tonight."

LSU, which snapped a three-game home losing streak, held the Commodores to 37.0 percent shooting for the game. Vanderbilt, one of the nation's top 3-point shooting teams, finished just 2-of-12 from beyond the arc and had entered the game averaging 71.9 points per contest.

LSU would outscore Vanderbilt, 28-15, in the second half. The Lady Tigers amassed a 13-4 run to close the game. Courtney Jones' turnaround shot made it 44-35 and Graham and Hightower followed with back-to-back buckets with less than six minutes to play.

Vanderbilt Head Coach Melanie Balcomb on KG:
"Katherine is smart and has good size. I noticed her assist-to-turnover ratio is very good. She's been very steady, hitting wide-open shots and making good decisions. I think Graham is playing very well for them, and she is the most improved player I've seen from this team from last year."

Read the entire article at: http://bit.ly/9XACA9

Posted by Bill Martin  

Marie lights it up during NBA All-Star Weekend

Check out Marie Ferdinand-Harris representing Los Angeles (and LSU) in the NBA-WNBA Shootout during the All-Star weekend festitives.

Filed under  //  WNBA  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Seimone talks about her difficult year

MyFox9.com with a great interview with Seimone and her difficult year.

Filed under  //  Seimone Augustus   WNBA  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Big Syl checks in from Russia

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The following is from Sylvia Fowles thanks to her WNBA team:


Life in Russia ...where should I begin?

Okay, for you guys out there who don't know where I play in my off season, I am in Vidnoe, Russia. That's about 30 to 40 minutes away from the city. Playing here is not so bad when you have Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, and Janel McCarville as teammates. They keep me going and I have to say, having them around makes things much better.

I really don't get out too much here. I may go out to eat from time to time with my teammates, but nothing major or juicy to tell you guys. I am more of a home body and I LOVE "me time". The main reason for me being a home body is because it is too cold here, and I don't like it one bit. I spend most of my days drawing, watching movies and talking to my mother through Skype.

My mother will be coming to visit me in a few weeks and she's bringing my dog. YAY!!! I'm super-excited to see them. I'm going to be super-happy when they're here. It seems like forever since I've seen them, and it's only been a month. When my mother gets here I will take her out, but she has to cook me meals. She is not on a vacation, and I have to get some good home-cooking in while I can.

Thanks for checking in. I can't wait to see you all when I get back in the States, and back in Chicago.

Thanks to the Chicago Sky for the update! http://bit.ly/9X5xrh

Filed under  //  Sylvia Fowles   WNBA  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Patrick Wright and Lady Tiger Radio Show; A Basketball Tradition

PATRICK WRIGHT (2-15-10):
Besides calling each game on the radio, another fun part of working for the Lady Tigers is hosting Coach Chancellor’s radio show on Tuesday nights from 7-8 at Walk-On’s in Baton Rouge. Along with breaking down the previous games and previewing upcoming games, the show gives Coach Chancellor and me a chance to interact with some of the loyal Lady Tiger fans who come to see the show in person or who call in. Coach always brings by t-shirts to give away to audience members and there is always a segment where the fans can come up to the microphone and ask questions about Lady Tiger basketball. And there is usually a surprise or two that nobody is expecting…

What makes the show fun is that it is very “busy”. There is a lot going on. I sometimes wonder how we get it all done in just 1 hour! Aside from discussing the games, each week we have a player as our guest for a couple of segments and we have at least one segment where the audience members are invited to come up to the microphone to ask questions. Also, we frequently have other “special” guests to discuss some aspect of Lady Tiger basketball. As you can see in a couple of the pictures, Temeka Johnson stopped by for one show to talk about what she has been up to and about her HOPE foundation. Other special guests have included Tom Harlukowicz from LSU’s Marketing and Promotions Department and a pair of principals from schools in Baton Rouge who have “adopted” Katherine Graham and LaSondra Barrett as part of the GPA program.

This is the 12th season that we have done a coach’s show for radio and the 5th straight year that we have done the show from Walk-On’s. Before taking the show “on the road”, the show used to originate from the studio on the 5th floor of the athletic administration building.

Unfortunately, we didn’t start doing the shows from Walk-On’s until after Coach Gunter retired, but I know she would have thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the fans in the live audience setting. However, even with the show in the studio, Coach Gunter and I spent many hours talking basketball and I, along with all the listeners, learned a lot from hearing her discuss the sport.

For any blog readers out there who have not been to Walk-On’s to see the show live, make plans to come by between now and the end of the season! You are guaranteed to have a good time and enjoy a good meal, all in one sitting!

 

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Posted by Bill Martin  

Pink Zone Game donation plans announced

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BATON ROUGE -- LSU women’s basketball will recognize breast cancer awareness on Thursday, Feb. 18 when the Lady Tigers host Vanderbilt in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association “Pink Zone Game” at 7 p.m. CST in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The game will be televised live by Fox Sports Net South/Southwest.

Fans attending the game are encouraged to wear pink as the LSU Athletics Department will recognize local breast cancer survivors in a special halftime “Parade of Survivors.”

To participate in the parade, survivors are asked to complete the online form at LSUsports.net. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, Feb. 17, at noon CST. Honorees will be notified as soon as possible after they are selected.

Admission for LSU students is free of charge with a valid LSU ID. LSU women’s basketball will donate $1 to Baton Rouge area cancer research for each LSU student in attendance on Sunday. Students are reminded that it is a student-point game.

LSU associate head coach Bob Starkey also announced that he and his wife Sherie, a breast cancer survivor, will donate $1 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure for every LSU student in attendance at Thursday’s game.

Donations will be accepted at the game benefitting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Donors may pledge a chosen amount for each point scored by the Lady Tigers or they can donate a flat amount that they see fit. There will be four donation locations on the concourse of the Maravich Center.

Filed under  //  Community   Marketing & Promotions  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Did you know?

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BILL MARTIN (2-15-10):
Allison Hightower’s 24 points in the first half at Auburn were the most in a half by an LSU player in an SEC game since Cornelia Gayden scored 26 points in the second half at South Carolina on Jan. 14, 1995. In her past six games, Hightower has averaged 25.5 points, five 20-plus point games and she has combined for 20 three-pointers and 11 steals during that span. Her 18.5 points per game average is on pace to be the highest since Seimone Augustus posted 22.7 points during her National Player of the Year senior season of 2005-06.

Posted by Bill Martin  

Lady Tigers claim road win at Auburn

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AUBURN, Ala. -- LSU senior guard Allison Hightower is living up to her preseason Southeastern Conference Player of the Year billing, and the Lady Tigers top scoring defense has returned to form with a second consecutive SEC blowout victory.

Hightower scored 24 of her game-high 29 points in the first half, and the 23rd-ranked LSU women's basketball team separated the score with a 17-0 run as the Lady Tigers cruised past Auburn, 75-51, on Sunday afternoon at Beard-Eaves Coliseum.

LSU (17-7, 6-6 SEC) moved back to .500 in league play with four games remaining in the regular season, three of which will be played in Baton Rouge. Auburn (12-14, 3-10), the defending SEC regular season champion, continued its recent slide with its fourth straight loss and eighth in the past nine games.

"We played really well," said LSU head coach Van Chancellor. "We shot the ball as well as we could in the first half. (Allison) Hightower was as good as I've ever seen her. She's been red hot for us. We did a great job at the free throw line and defensively. These have been two big wins on the road (at Florida and at Auburn). This sets up a huge game on Thursday against Vanderbilt."

Hightower buried 4-of-6 three-pointers and finished 11-of-16 from the entire floor in 31 minutes. In her past six games, Hightower has averaged 25.5 points, five 20-plus point games and she has combined for 20 three-pointers and 11 steals during that span.

"I just took what the defense gave me," said Hightower, who tied Temeka Johnson for seventh place in LSU career games played (129). "I was feeling it out there today, and glad we got a win. I've been confident shooting the ball and I have worked really hard improving my shot."

LaSondra Barrett added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Freshman Adrienne Webb reached double-figures for the second straight game with 10 points, and Jasmine Nelson came off the bench to block three shots.

On the heels of a dominating 70-30 win at Florida on Thursday, LSU broke the game open midway through the first period. Katherine Graham drained a jumper from the top of the key and Hightower then racked up back-to-back steals and fast break layups to put the Lady Tigers ahead 18-6 with 8:07 remaining. Hightower culminated the 17-0 spurt with a 3-pointer.

Read Bill Martin's complete article (along with box score): http://bit.ly/cWPZCy

Posted by Bill Martin  

Lady Tigers assisting at NBA All-Star Game

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Lady Tiger alumni Scholonda Robinson and Marie Ferdinand have been busy during the NBA All-Star Game festivities in Arlington, TX. Marie has been a guest speaker and assisted in building a home while Sho (seen above) work a coaching clinic for young people. Giving back -- it's the Lady Tiger Way!!!

Filed under  //  WNBA  
Posted by Bill Martin