LSU’s (28-5) senior class of Sylvia Fowles, Erica White, Quianna Chaney, RaShonta Leblanc, Ashley Thomas, Mesha Williams, Khalilah Mitchell and Marian Whitfield will all be playing in the Maravich Center for the final time of their collegiate careers.
The Lady Tigers defeated No. 15-seed Jackson State, 66-32, in the opening round on Saturday night. Marist (32-2), the automatic bid of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, defeated No. 10-seed DePaul, 76-57, in the first round.
Fowles, one of LSU’s five senior starters, led LSU to the victory with 16 points, seven rebounds and six steals in 23 minutes of action against Jackson State.
Chaney added 12 points in the Lady Tigers’ victory, while Williams poured in a season-high 14 points in 17 minutes off the bench.
LSU’s senior class improved to 53-3 at home during their career after Saturday’s win over Jackson State, the second most successful four-year stint in the program’s history.
Sophomore forward Rachele Fitz led the Red Foxes with 23 points in their victory over DePaul. Junior guard Julianne Viani added 18 points and five assists in the win.
This will be the first meeting between LSU and Marist on the basketball court.
Marist is now 3-3 in NCAA Tournament history and has reached the second-round for the second consecutive season. LSU improved to 33-17 in the NCAA Tournament and have advanced to the second-round for the 10th straight year.
The winner of the game will advance to the New Orleans Regional semifinal game that will be played in New Orleans Arena on March 29. The winner of the game in Baton Rouge will face the winner of the second-round game between No. 11-seed Florida State and No. 3-seed Oklahoma State in Des Moines, Iowa.
The game will be aired on ESPN2 (COX Cable Ch. 36 in Baton Rouge) and can be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network (107.3 FM in Baton Rouge) and in the GeauxZone on www.LSUsports.net.
The second-round game in the Oklahoma City Region between No. 2 seed Texas A&M and No. 10 seed Hartford will follow LSU’s game on Monday night in the Maravich Center.