Augustus’ jumper lifts Lady Tigers

Seimone Augustus doesn’t want to sound greedy. Still, she would prefer to have the ball in her hands with the game on the line.

Augustus scored 24 points, including the winning shot with 13 seconds remaining, and No. 3 LSU overcame a 31-point effort by Georgia’s Tasha Humphrey to beat the 13th-ranked Lady Bulldogs 65-64 on Sunday in Athens, Ga.

The teams swapped the lead five times in the final 1:21. After Humphrey worked into the lane to sink a shot that put Georgia ahead 64-63, LSU went with the obvious choice for its final possession.

Getting free on the right side, Augustus swished a 10-footer over Sherill Baker and Megan Darrah.

“If someone has to take them – especially at crunch time – then I’d rather take the shot,” Augustus said. “I’m not saying that my teammates can’t make the shots, but I’d like them to come to me every time.”

Scholanda Hoston set the backscreen that gave Augustus just enough room to make the winning shot for the Lady Tigers (16-1, 5-0 Southeastern Conference).

“I guess their defense got hung up in the screens,” Augustus said. “But I really wasn’t that open. Sherill and No. 24 (Darrah), they were right there.”

After watching LSU execute its offense to perfection, Georgia (13-5, 3-2) messed up a couple of chances to win it. Most troubling, the Lady Bulldogs never even got the ball back to Humphrey.

Senior Alexis Kendrick appeared to lose track of the time and threw up a wild 3-pointer with about 6 seconds left that didn’t come close. Sylvia Fowles rebounded for LSU and was immediately fouled. After back-to-back timeouts, she missed the first free throw in a one-and-one, giving the Lady Bulldogs another opportunity.

Janese Hardrick veered around the defenders and threw up a 50-footer on the run that missed.

(4) North Carolina 68, Florida State 51: At Chapel Hill, N.C., Erlana Larkins scored 22 points and the Tar Heels (18-0, 5-0 ACC) tied their best start in school history by beating the Seminoles (11-7, 2-3).

(7) Ohio St. 67, (12) Michigan St. 65: At East Lansing, Mich., Jessica Davenport scored 31 points, including a layup in the final second, to lift the Buckeyes (15-2, 6-1 Big Ten) over the Spartans (14-6, 4-3). The 6-foot-5 Davenport, who had 10 rebounds and three blocked shots, took a 40-foot pass from Marscilla Packer and scored at the buzzer.

(11) Purdue 57, Illinois 53: At Champaign, Ill., Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton scored 14 points and the Boilermakers (15-2, 7-0 Big Ten) snapped the Illini’s (12-6, 4-3) nine-game home winning streak.

(16) Minnesota 80, Iowa 68: At Iowa City, Iowa, Liz Podominick had 13 points and Jamie Broback and Natasha Williams added 12 each for the Gophers (13-4, 6-1 Big Ten). Freshman Megan Skouby led the Hawkeyes (12-7, 5-3) with 20 points.

Florida 73, (19) Vanderbilt 59: At Gainesville, Fla., Marshae Dotson scored 17 points and Kim Dye added 15 off the bench to give the Gators (15-3, 4-2 SEC) the win over the Commodores (13-6, 2-3) on coach Carolyn Peck’s 40th birthday.

(21) Temple 67, Xavier 62: At Cincinnati, Candice Dupree had 22 points, eight rebounds and five blocks to help the Owls (14-4, 5-1 Atlantic 10) overcome Tara Boothe’s 30-point performance for the Musketeers (12-6, 3-4).

(22) Boston College 85, Longwood 29: At Boston, Brooke Queenan scored 18 points and Kathrin Ress had 17 to lead the Eagles (13-6) over the Lancers (6-13) for their most lopsided victory in school history.

Massachusetts 55, (25) George Washington 53: At Amherst, Mass., Kate Mills had 13 points, 11 rebounds and two free throws with 10 seconds left to lift the Minutewomen (5-13, 2-5 Atlantic 10) over the Colonials (12-5, 5-1).