Tigers Drop Game To No. 7 Texas A&M On Road

Published 7:00 am Sunday, February 7, 2021

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas — LSU wasn’t able to pick up the season sweep for a second year in a row as No. 7 Texas A&M scored 13 straight points in the fourth quarter en route to a 54-41 victory inside Reed Arena Thursday night despite LSU’s ability to maintain the lead for the first three quarters.

LSU is now 8-8 overall and 6-4 in SEC play, while A&M improves to 17-1 and 9-1 in conference action.

After senior Karli Seay made a jumper to take the early 6-5 lead in the first quarter, LSU held on to it, outscoring the Aggies 21-9 across the first two quarters. The Aggies started to chip away at the deficit and took the 39-37 lead after Aaliyah Wilson knocked down a three-pointer with no time remaining on the clock to end the third quarter.

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The Aggies would use that three-pointer as a launchpad for their offense, outscoring the Tigers 12-4 in the fourth quarter.

Despite the offensive struggles, the frontcourt for LSU presented a problem down low for the Aggies. Redshirt senior Faustine Aifuwa had 11 points, six rebounds, one assist, and a steal. Senior Awa Trasi was close to notching her first double-double as she collected 10 points, seven rebounds, and a steal.

Seay showed off her passing ability, finishing with a career-high in assists at six. She had five points, three rebounds, and two steals to round out her stats line.

Senior Khayla Pointer led the way for the Tigers in the scoring column amassing 12 points. The rest of her stats line consisted of six rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

LSU head coach Nikki Fargas missed her second-straight game while adhering to contact tracing protocols. Acting head coach Charlene Thomas-Swinson led the Tigers again in Fargas’ absence.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Both teams traded buckets to start the game. After Pointer converted a floater, LSU led Texas A&M 8-5 with 4:35 left in the first quarter.
  • After four consecutive points from Aifuwa and a three-pointer from senior Jailin Cherry, LSU led Texas A&M 18-10 at the end of the quarter.
  • LSU used back-to-back three balls from Pointer to extend its lead over Texas A&M to 24-18 with 5:41 remaining in the half.
  • After a timeout, both teams scored three points apiece down the stretch with LSU leading Texas A&M 27-21 at halftime.
  • Trasi made a layup to start the scoring for the Tigers in the second half. The Aggies answered back with a basket of their own.
  • Texas A&M used a 10-6 scoring run to close the gap against LSU. The Tigers led the Aggies 33-31 with 3:39 left in the third quarter.
  • Texas A&M outscored LSU 18-10 in the third quarter to lead the Tigers 39-37 going into the fourth.
  • A 10-0 scoring run to open the fourth quarter had Texas A&M leading LSU 49-37 with 4:59 left in the game.
  • The Aggies outscored the Tigers 33-14 in the second half. LSU lost to Texas A&M 54-41.

Acting Head Coach Charlene Thomas-Swinson Postgame Quotes

On LSU’s offensive struggles…

“That’s something we talked about in preparation for this game. We talked about not allowing Texas A&M to get going, and we talked about not allowing our offense to dictate our defense. I think that was the true factor in not being able to slow them down. They hit three back-to-back threes, and you just kind of saw our level of confidence with what we normally have to get in defensive stops kind of get away from us. It’s telling to our staff when you hold a Texas A&M team to 54 points and lead at one point, but not be able to find the ingredients to score the basketball. It’s back to the drawing board with what we have to accomplish with getting back to playing LSU basketball, where we create havoc defensively and then find ways to convert offensively.”

On LSU’s play defensively…

“Our staff talked about the ability to be able to cancel out the guard play that was going on with Texas A&M. There is something to be said in the sense that there are certain things we did accomplish, but tonight the biggest disappointment was just not being able to score the basketball.”

Up Next

The Tigers will get a brief break in the schedule before they head back to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center to take on the Florida Gators on Thursday, February 11. The matchup will be streamed on the SEC Network Plus with tipoff set for 6 p.m. CT. As always, you can tune into the LSU Sports Radio Network, broadcasting on 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge, and listen to the Voice of the Tigers Patrick Wright calling the action. The game against Florida will be LSU’s annual Play4Kay game.