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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Once Marie Ferdinand settled down, she took
control of the game.
|  | | LSU forward Ke-Ke Tardy, center, gets sandwiched between Purdue's Shereka Wright, left, and Camille Cooper. |
Ferdinand scored 20 of her 25 points in the second half and
made the game-winning layup with 39 seconds left as LSU (No. 16 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 Associated Press) overcame a 16-point deficit to beat No. 6 Purdue 62-55 Saturday.
"The second half, Ferdinand became Ferdinand, and when she does
that she plays well," LSU coach Sue Gunter said.
Gunter said she thought Ferdinand was overanxious in the first
half because of her matchup with Purdue's Camille Cooper. They were
teammates on the U.S. Select Team last summer.
The Boilermakers (8-3) appeared to have busted the game open
with a 20-2 first-half run to take a 34-21 halftime lead. But the
Lady Tigers (6-3) continued to chip away.
"She was excited. At halftime she settled down. We (talked) a
little bit about it," Gunter said.
After a sluggish first half, Ferdinand took over in the second,
making seven of her 12 shots.
"We just got together at the half and knew we could turn it
around. We're friends, but on the court, we're just basketball
players," Ferdinand said. "It was a huge win for us. A
confidence-builder, and hopefully it can give us momentum."
LSU's defense also did a good job of shutting down Purdue's two
leading scorers -- Katie Douglas and Cooper. Douglas was averaging
16 points and Cooper 14, but they were held to four and seven,
respectively.
Gunter credited Angelia Crockett for her defense against
Douglas.
"Crockett did an excellent job on Katie. She's one of the best
players in America," Gunter said.
The Boilermakers never could find a way to stop Ferdinand.
"We did a great job the first half on her. We want to force her
to go left. When she goes left, she gives it up," Purdue coach
Kristy Curry said. "We let LSU be the aggressor in the second
half. We weren't aggressive at all."
Gunter said the Lady Tigers' free-throw advantage was just as
important. LSU went 23-for-30, while Purdue made just three of
nine.
Purdue led 41-33 midway through the second half, but LSU went on
a 12-4 run, with six of those points from Ferdinand, and the score
was tied 45-45.
Purdue's Shereka Wright answered that run with 3-pointers on
consecutive possessions. They were her first two 3-pointers of the
season. The lead bounced back and forth until it was 55-55 with
2:43 left.
It remained that way until Ferdinand's layup.
Erika Valek scored 13 points and Wright had 11 for Purdue, which
got 11 rebounds from Cooper.
DeTrina White led LSU with 10 rebounds.
The Lady Tigers had been 5-0 against unranked teams and 0-3
against ranked ones.
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ALSO SEE
Women's College Basketball Scoreboard
LSU Clubhouse
Purdue Clubhouse
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