Coach Chancellor grabs 500th collegiate victory

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CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The architect of four WNBA championships with the Houston Comets and the coach of the 2004 United States Olympic gold medal team, LSU head coach Van Chancellor has added another accolade to his Hall of Fame career by winning his 500th collegiate game on Wednesday night.

Senior preseason All-American Allison Hightower led all scorers with 18 points and the 11th-ranked LSU women’s basketball team never trailed as the Lady Tigers shutdown 13th-ranked Xavier (Ohio), 56-47, to give Chancellor the milestone victory at Cintas Arena.

“This was a return to the way we used to play defensively,” Chancellor said. “We told our team we had to return to the Lady Tiger way. We had tough practices after Christmas and prepared well for this team. This was a great basketball team we beat tonight. I am really proud of our effort. We learned a lot from the loss at Nebraska. That was an absolute wake-up call.”

The Lady Tigers (11-1) closed their non-conference slate with their first win over a ranked non-SEC opponent on the road since at No. 18 Michigan State on Dec. 17, 2006. LSU opens Southeastern Conference play at South Carolina on Sunday in Columbia. The game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU at 5 p.m. CST.

Xavier (9-3), who was coming off an 81-60 win over Mississippi State, was held to a season-low 47 points and never found a rhythm offensively. The Musketeers came into the contest averaging 74.5 points per game but were held 28 points below their season average.

Chancellor became the 24th active Division I coach to reach 500 wins and the 39th Division I coach all-time to reach the 500 plateau. The 2007 Naismith Hall of Famer, in his 22nd year overall, won 439 games in 19 seasons at Ole Miss and he has captured 61 victories in now his third season at LSU.

“In the scope of things that doesn’t seem important, the 500 wins,” he said. “I am more proud of our team and what they did tonight. That is what is important. These players deserve the credit.”

Posted by Bill Martin