If you want to know how brutal the matchup was on Thursday night between the LSU-Shreveport Lady Pilots and the visiting Paul Quinn Lady Tigers, all you had to do was hear the comment of Lady Tiger Hannah DeBose as she fouled out of the contest.
"Go hurt somebody," DeBose told her replacement.But the Lady Pilots overcame the hacking attack of the visitors due to some timely free throw shooting by Valerie Huizar to win their opener 79-75.
Huizar, a JUCO transfer in her first season with the Lady Pilots, nailed 9 of 10 free throws over the final six minutes of the contest. Quan Joseph pulled down a big offensive rebound and Jamien Arvie had a key putback basket late to help the cause.
"They made us play ugly," LSUS coach Ronnie Howell said. "We try to be disciplined in our offense but they were running something different every time down the court. We eliminated the turnovers in the second half and made the free throws, so I'm pleased with the win."
Joseph led four Lady Pilots in double figures with 20 points, while Huizar added 16, Amanda Perkins 14 and Whitney Hollins 13. Ashley Williams topped the Lady Tigers with 17 points.
The visitors were whistled for 30 fouls and had two players foul out. Three more players had four fouls. LSUS won despite committing 31 turnovers, including 18 in the first half.
The Lady Tigers took their only lead of the second half midway through the frame on a Shanequa Days bucket. But Flowers' layup seconds later gave the Lady Pilots a lead they wouldn't relinquish. LSUS could never get further in front than six points, however.
It appeared that the Lady Pilots were set to pull away eight minutes into the contest after an 8-0 run, keyed by six consecutive points from Tish Flowers, gave them a 25-16 advantage. But the visitors answered with six straight points to get back in the game.
The Lady Tigers kept chipping away and finally tied the game at 33 on a pair of 3-pointers by Hannah DeBose. But the Lady Pilots rattled off seven straight points, including four more by Flowers, to go in front 40-33 with two minutes remaining in the first half.
