Seimone
Augustus led the way
with 26 points, while Temeka Johnson added 17, Wendlyn
Jones and Doneeka
Hodges had 15 each and
Scholanda Hoston chipped in with 11 off the
bench.
The victory for LSU (20-4,
8-2 SEC) earned the program its 16th 20-win season and kept the Lady Tigers in
second-place in the Southeastern Conference.
"People stepped up for us
today," LSU associate coach Pokey
Chatman said. "We had
some non-starters come in and contribute in big ways offensively and
defensively."
LSU held Florida (16-7,
6-4 SEC) to 35.2 percent shooting and forced 16 turnovers. The Lady Tigers
connected on 61.3 percent from the floor, including 61.8 in the second
half.
Vanessa Hayden, Florida's
leading scorer and rebounder, was held to 17 points and seven rebounds on 7-24
shooting. Florida did outrebound LSU 42-35, but Augustus and Jones each grabbed
seven boards.
Johnson, LSU's senior
point guard, became the all-time leader in assists at LSU with her fourth of the
game. She dished the ball to Hoston for a lay-up with 6:50 left to play in the
game. She passed Chatman for the career lead and finished the game with six,
giving her 573 career assists.
LSU, which led 42-33 at
the break, outscored Florida 13-6 to begin the second half and pulled away from
that point, taking as much as a 22-point lead with 1:08 left in the
game.
LSU will host Vanderbilt
on Thursday at 7 p.m. CST in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in the first of
three straight at home.