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LSU Too Much For Bulldogs in First Round of NCAA Tournament - UNC Asheville Bulldogs Official Athletics Site
01.01.1970 | Women's Basketball
March 17, 2007
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by Rick Cantu, Special to the Citizen-Times
AUSTIN, Texas -- UNC Asheville's first dance at the NCAA women's basketball tournament was sweet but short.
Playing against Southeastern Conference powerhouse LSU was an upgrade from Big South competition.
Deep and athletic, the Tigers roared to a 77-39 victory in the first round of the NCAA tournament at the Erwin Center.
The victory propels LSU (27-7) into the second round Monday night against West Virginia, a surprise winner over Xavier in Saturday's other first-round game from the Fresno Regional.
UNC Asheville (21-12) had its six-game winning streak snapped. This marked the first time the Bulldogs have competed in the NCAA women's tournament.
This was the end of a turbulent week for LSU after coach Pokey Chatman resigned amid allegations of improper conduct with former players.
Acting head coach Bob Starkey was blessed with a breather in his debut.
Guard RaShonta LeBlanc nailed a 3-pointer 20 seconds into the game and the mismatch was on. Starkey rotated players off the bench freely, and LeBlanc scored 12 points in the first half to give the Lady Tigers a 39-19 halftime lead.
UNCA reserve Kyla Jones had seven points in the opening half, not enough to combat the size and speed of the Tigers.
With eight minutes left in the second half LSU had extended its lead to 68-28. With a balanced scoring attack, LeBlanc and Chaney had 15 points apiece.
LSU showed proved its defensive ability as well, holding the Bulldogs to one of their lowest scoring outputs of the year. UNCA entered the game as the leading scoring team in the Big South with an average of 68.5 points a game.
The aggressive Tigers had forced 23 turnovers and blocked eight shots with five minutes left in the game.
Despite the loss, UNCA can boast about its best first 20-victory season since becoming an NCAA Division I school 20 years ago. The senior class of Amanda Elder, Brittany Hendley, Katie Baldwin, Leslie Young and Tasha Branch is the most successful class in team history, going 73-46 over the past four years. Baldwin had 7 points to help pace the Bulldogs.
The 12th-ranked Tigers received a good contribution from junior center Sylvia Fowles, who scored eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds in limited action. Fowles ranks 10th on LSU's all-time leading scorer list. Guard Erica White had 10 points.
