LSU balance, defense too much for Hampton, 73-54
Theresa Plaisance scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and reserves Shanece McKinney and Jasmine Rhodes also scored 14 as No. 15 LSU rolled to a 73-54 win over Hampton Wednesday night.
The victory avenged a 67-58 upset at Hampton last year for the Lady Tigers (3-1). Hampton (2-1) was limited to 30 percent shooting and only made 7 of 18 free throws, making it difficult to take advantage of the 22 LSU turnovers the Tigers forced.
Both teams started cold and Kenia Cole's 3-pointer allowed Hampton to nurse a 14-10 lead with under 9 minutes left in the first half. Then the Tigers went on a 15-1 run to make it 25-15 and they built that to 34-20 at the half.
Nicole Hamilton scored a career-high 27 points for Hampton and Malia Tate-DeFreitas added 19, but the rest of the team combined for just eight points.