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LSU turns tourney double

LSU center Sylvia Fowles, left, take a shot over Stanford forward Kristen Newlin in the first half of their regional final. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press The Spokesman-Review
LSU center Sylvia Fowles, left, take a shot over Stanford forward Kristen Newlin in the first half of their regional final. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Seimone Augustus saw her old pals from the Baton Rouge neighborhood reach the Final Four. Not content to just watch the boys play, she made sure LSU has two teams with a shot at a national championship next weekend.

Augustus, a middle-school AAU teammate of Glen “Big Baby” Davis and longtime friends with other men’s stars like Tyrus Thomas, scored 17 of her 26 points in the second half and drew a game-saving charge with 4.8 seconds left to send the Lady Tigers past Stanford 62-59 Monday night in the finals of the San Antonio Regional.

The nation’s leading scorer and reigning national player of the year, Augustus carried LSU (31-3) in the second half with the determination of someone not wanting to end her career. Then, with the Lady Tigers up 60-59 and Stanford star Candice Wiggins driving, she planted her body in the way and drew a charge that prevented the Cardinal from getting off a potential go-ahead shot.

Her reaction was priceless: Laying prone, she began kicking her feet and shaking her fists for several seconds while Stanford (26-8) begged for a blocking call. The guys back home were certainly watching and hollering. When Augustus called Thomas to congratulate him Saturday, he said: “Y’all have to do your part. We’ve done our part.”

They did, and it’s their third straight trip. The Lady Tigers will play Sunday against the winner of tonight’s game between Connecticut and Duke.

LSU is the seventh school to pull off the NCAA tournament double. This also is the fifth straight year it’s happened. Only Connecticut in 2003 pulled off the title sweep; in fact, none of the other teams won either the men’s or women’s titles.

Twenty years ago, when the men last made it, the Lady Tigers blew a late lead a few hours later to miss what would’ve been their first Final Four. Augustus made sure history didn’t repeat, scoring LSU’s final four points and so many other big baskets, many after banging her back hard on the court while coming down with a rebound.

Erica White sparked LSU throughout the second half and finished with 14 points and seven assists. Sylvia Fowles added 11 points and 17 rebounds.

The game ended with LSU’s Scholanda Hoston stealing the ball from Stanford’s Brooke Smith. Hoston was so ready to celebrate she threw it high with about 3 seconds left. Smith fell to the ground, banging her hands in disgust, and teammate Kristen Newlin wrapped her arms around her head in disbelief.

Maryland 75, Utah 65 (OT)

Kristi Toliver made just about everything she put up and Crystal Langhorne was as reliable as ever, sending Maryland back to the Final Four after a 17-year absence.

Toliver set career highs with 28 points and six 3-pointers and Langhorne added 16 points and 10 rebounds, leading second-seeded Maryland to a victory over No. 5 Utah in the Albuquerque Regional.

Laura Harper scored six points in overtime for the Terrapins (32-7), who are returning to the Final Four for the first time since 1989 and play Sunday against the winner of the Cleveland Regional final between North Carolina and Tennessee.

Kim Smith had 17 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Mountain West champions, and Shona Thorburn finished with 10 points after missing the last 5 minutes of the first half to get treatment for an injured ankle.