LSU breathes a little easier

The Lady Tigers dodged a huge bullet from West Virginia here in Austin.

LSU escaped the second round of the women's NCAA Tournament with a 49-43 win, thanks in large part to Sylvia Fowles. The Tigers had problems knocking down shots that were falling in their first round game.

West Virginia did a fantastic job on Fowles in the first half. The Mountaineers showed a man defense on the Tigers first trip down the court, but after that, it was all zone.
Fowles had a more physical game compared to the UNC-Asheville game.

While everyone was looking at Fowles' performance, interim head coach Bob Starkey credited one of his guards as the game's turning point.

"RaShonda LeBlanc on (LaQuinta)Owens was critical because she didn't get any looks," he said.

The best question in the post-game news conference was from Baton Rouge Advocate beat writer Scott Rabalais who asked Starkey who's now 2-0 as a head coach: "Coach, was this the toughest game of your career?"

That got a hearty laugh from the collection of reporters working in the media room.