BATON ROUGE -- Florida shot 50 percent from the floor and took advantage of LSU turnovers as the Gators won in Baton Rouge for the first time since 1996 and handed the Lady Tiger basketball team its fifth straight Southeastern Conference loss, 73-64, on Thursday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU (14-8, 4-5) fell into a tie for seventh place with Florida in the SEC standings with seven games remaining. Florida (14-8, 4-5) does hold the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series for the first time since the 1994-95 season. The Gators' shooting percentage was the highest allowed by the LSU this season. UF benefited from 26 points off of 22 Lady Tiger turnovers.
"There were three things that I put on the board for this team going into this game to help them be successful," said LSU head coach Nikki Caldwell. "The first thing that I put on the board was that we needed to have confidence and believe in each other. The second thing is that we needed to be mentally tougher. The third thing was that we needed to max-out. Those three things, we did not do tonight. I felt like Florida did do all of these things, and I give them much credit."
Adrienne Webb led LSU with a game-high and season-high 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Webb buried a season-best 4-of-5 from three-point land and tallied a career-high three steals. She stands four made threes away from sixth-place in LSU career threes in just three seasons.
Courtney Jones added 10 points and six rebounds, while Jeanne Kenney fired in 10 points and had four assists.
Florida's Azania Stewart finished with a double-double on 12 points and 10 rebounds.
"When you play a team like Florida and any team from here on out, it's going to be a tough battle for our team because everybody is gunning for us," said Caldwell. "They understand that and they knew our vulnerability."
The Gators built a 33-24 lead at halftime and held their largest lead three minutes into the second half with five quick points, 38-24. Webb's inspired play kept the Lady Tigers alive throughout the second stanza. Her two jumpers and a Jones shot at the 13:12 mark made it a 40-32 contest. Kenney later nailed a three at the top of the key as LSU pulled to within seven.
The Lady Tigers came within six points following Jones' two free throws with 9:31 remaining in the game, but Florida pulled away in the final four minutes.
LSU shot 38.6 percent from the floor and out-rebounded the Gators, 36-35. However, Florida did control second-chance points, outscoring LSU 26-18.
The Lady Tigers host fifth-ranked Kentucky in the "Gold Game" at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Maravich Center. Tickets start at only $1 as part of LSU's Fan Appreciation Weekend. "Quick Change" will perform at halftime and gold rally towels will be on seats throughout the arena.
Information provided by LSU Sports
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