Harsh reality for LSU
TAMPA, Fla. – The Final Four is a magical event. But games like LSU's 47-46 loss to Tennessee in the second semifinal here Sunday serve as a reminder that sometimes the thrill of victory just can't compare to the agony of defeat.
Lady Tigers coach Van Chancellor, a Basketball Hall of Famer thanks mostly to his titles with the WNBA's Houston Comets, had waited a lifetime to reach the Final Four. His team? They've made it five years in a row.
They have been close to winning before, to finally playing for the title. But never this close.
"I can't explain to you what all this team has gone through in the last year and a half," said Chancellor, his usually jovial voice instead overwhelmed with pain. "And I just wanted them to experience winning a game at the Final Four, and I just felt bad because some way, somehow, I couldn't help them get there."
Chancellor blamed himself because this time, LSU (31-6) was one defensive stop away from completing a stunning comeback after two gritty free throws from senior Erica White. And for 39 minutes and 53 seconds, gritty defensive stops were what this game was all about.
But then …
The injured Candace Parker somehow dribbled all the way from the backcourt to the key. Instead of hoisting her 28th shot, she located a wide open Nicky Anosike. But LSU caught a break.
Anosike shanked the layup.
Sylvia Fowles had 24 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks, and had done everything to extend her storied career one more game. But racked with cramps, she didn't get board No. 21, nor come close to block No. 6.
Instead, Tennessee's Alexis Hornbuckle, who had clanged all seven shots she had taken, swooped in for the carom and the easy putback. Seven-tenths of a second remained, but the game was over. Fowles' career was over. The streak? Alive and brutally well.
White tried to be matter of fact.
"If we made Candace Parker just cross the ball over one time, I think we'd win," White said. "But we failed to do that and so we lost."
Senior guard RaShonta LeBlanc was more frank.
"It's hard that it had to come off an offensive rebound," LeBlanc said. "I hated that it had to end like that."
Sure, there was more to it than the final Tennessee possession. For the third straight Final Four, LSU scored in the teens in the first half. And the Lady Tigers clanged 12 of 19 free throws.
"I think when you shoot 30-something percent (from the field), 11 percent (from three-point range) and 38 percent from the free-throw line, (and) you have a chance to win it at the end – you're lucky you had a shot," Chancellor said.
They had a shot. They had the best player on the floor, and the other team's best player (Parker) was grimacing in pain and bricking 21 shots. They executed part of their game plan better than they had all season. And still …
"We got (Fowles) 24 shots," Chancellor said."We haven't got her 24 shots all year. We were getting the ball to Sylvia right where we wanted it. That was not our problem.
"Then they doubled us because we couldn't make a shot from anywhere else."
It was a familiar problem for LSU at the Final Four. But this time, the Lady Tigers almost overcame it.
Instead, Tennessee (35-2) will try to defend its title Tuesday against Stanford, an 82-73 upset winner over Connecticut (36-2) in the earlier semifinal. The Cardinal (35-3) emphatically resurfaced after an 11-year gap between Final Four appearances and a 16-year span since its last spot in a championship game.
LSU wonders when, if ever, it will have its Cardinal moment.
"Having lost this game the last four years that we've been here, (it's) hard not having the chance to play for a national championship," senior guard Ashley Thomas said. "We have to look at the positive side of everything."
That helps cope with the pain.
