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LSU turns up heat to overcome Duke

Senior Temeka Johnson (2) helps LSU get back to the women's Final Four. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Elizabeth A. Davis Associated Press
Senior Temeka Johnson (2) helps LSU get back to the women's Final Four. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – LSU was finally picking on someone its own size, and it looked at first like the top-seeded Lady Tigers had gone soft from feasting on lesser opponents.

But not even Duke could long withstand All-American Seimone Augustus and LSU’s furious defense. The top-seeded Lady Tigers are going to a second straight Final Four after beating the second-seeded Blue Devils 59-49 Monday night in the Chattanooga Regional final.

LSU was down early but tied it at halftime, went ahead in the opening minutes of the second half and never trailed again.

“I think it will help the team,” Augustus said about being tested. “This is a big momentum getter and confidence booster.”

The Lady Tigers (33-2) will face second-seeded Baylor, a 72-63 winner over top-seeded North Carolina, in the national semifinals Sunday in Indianapolis.

“For me, the first time (last year) is the best time, but it’s good to get back,” senior point guard Temeka Johnson said.

Augustus, the regional’s most outstanding player, finished with 24 points and Sylvia Fowles added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

LSU beat its first three opponents in the tournament by an average of 36 points, but the competition was much tougher Monday.

Johnson seemed to frown every time she brought the ball up the court in the first half, unable to get around taller defenders or find an open teammate.

“It was the most frustrating in a long time,” she said. “We were taking it from ourselves. We were falling into traps they set.”

The Blue Devils (31-5) had a good game plan to go inside and take advantage of their bigger posts, and it worked early. Duke was ahead by as many as 12 in the first half, putting the Lady Tigers in their biggest deficit of the season.

Then LSU turned up its defensive pressure, tipping passes and blocking shots, and brought in Fowles, the 6-foot-5 freshman, to help clog the middle. She helped the Lady Tigers outrebound Duke 42-27, and the Blue Devils scored only 19 points in the second half. Their point and rebound totals were season lows.

“We felt coming into this game it was going to be a game won in the paint. Duke is a tremendous defensive team. We’ve been known on occasion to play very good defense,” LSU coach Pokey Chatman said.

Duke All-American Monique Currie, who hasn’t decided whether she is returning for her senior season, finished with 11 points. Mistie Williams added 15 on 7-of-7 shooting.

“I struggled throughout the game,” Currie said.