The only thing that went wrong for LSU on Thursday night was the team’s postgame travel plans.
The No. 23 Tigers (16-7, 5-6 Southeastern Conference) clobbered UF (13-11, 6-5 SEC) 70-30 in the O’Connell Center. It was the lowest point total ever for the Gators in an SEC game since LSU on Feb. 22, 1986, in a 69-34 loss.
“I never thought this would be the score,” LSU coach Van Chancellor said. “We were all over them tonight. That’s the best defense we’ve played since…good Lord. That may be the best defense we’ve played all year.
“The only negative is we have to fly back into Lafayette because there’s some kind of ice in Baton Rouge.”
The Tigers came in ranked seventh in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to 52.7 points per game. They lived up to the billing Thursday and exceeded expectations.
“Clearly, we had a different game envisioned,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “Everything that happened was us reacting to them.”
The Gators were plagued by ineffective shooting partly due to LSU’s defense, while the Tigers (16-7, 5-6 SEC) poured in bucket after bucket.
Senior guard Allison Hightower and sophomore forward LaSondra Barrett — LSU’s top-two scorers who came in averaging 19.6 and 17 in conference play — combined for 30 points.
“(Hightower) played a great game,” Butler said. “They all did, offensively. It felt like whatever shot it was that they were trying to get, that they got.”
Florida’s top two scorers in the game — senior guard Steffi Sorensen (nine) and freshman forward Jennifer George (six) — combined for 15 points.
Azania Stewart, who came off the bench against Mississippi State, started and played seven scoreless minutes before she was pulled because of a lingering foot injury, and Butler listed Stewart as day-to-day after the game.
UF was held to 13 first-half points, its lowest total of the season and second lowest ever in an SEC game since Florida was limited to 10 points against the Tigers in that Feb. 22 matchup.
Hightower made a layup to start the game and didn’t slow down from there. After a teammate made two free throws, Hightower made the next 12 points for the Tigers to put LSU up 16-5; a lead that was never threatened.
“We didn’t get off to a good start, and they just kept building the lead and building the lead,” Sorensen said.
Successful field goals were few and far between for the Gators, who finished 11 of 56 from the field, including a 1-of-19 effort (5.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
There’s no rest for the weary Gators, who leave for Knoxville, Tenn., for a rematch with No. 5 Tennessee on Sunday.
