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BATON ROUGE &ndash The ninth-ranked LSU gymnastics team completed a weekend sweep of competition with a 197.500-196.625 victory over No. 12 Kentucky, Sunday afternoon inside the Maravich Center.&nbspThe Tigers improved to 9-2 and 3-2 against league teams with the victory.&nbspFreshman&nbspKiya Johnson&nbsppushed her season titles total to 20 with victories in the all-around with a score of 39.650 and on floor with a 9.975. Johnson has now won the all-around in six of eight meets this season.&nbspLSU senior&nbspRuby Harrold&nbspand junior&nbspSami Durante&nbspalso took titles. Harrold scores a 9.975 on vault for a career high. Harrold and Durante took the bars title with a 9.925.&nbspThe Tigers vault lineup scored a 49.400 to open the afternoon. Freshmen&nbspKai Rivers&nbspand&nbspMaddie Rau&nbspopened with scores of 9.85 and 9.75 respectively. Harrold claimed the title with a 9.975 in the third spot. Johnson and senior&nbspKennedi Edney&nbsprounded out the opening rotation with a 9.925 and 9.875 respectively.&nbspDurante and Harrold highlighted the Tigers bars score of 49.425 with scores of 9.925 in the fourth and sixth spot. Johnson and&nbspBridget Dean&nbspearned a 9.875 and Rivers also scored a 9.825.&nbspThe Tigers extended their lead with a 49.25 on beam. LSUs Christina Desideiro, Durante, &nbspand Edney all earned a 9.875. The beam lineup also scored a 9.825 from Dean and 9.875 from Johnson.&nbspJohnson punctuated the afternoon with a 9.975 to match her career high and earn the victory on floor. Harrold and Desiderio opened with a 9.875 and Dean scored a 9.800.&nbspReagan Campbell&nbspmatched her career high with a 9.90 on the event.&nbspNext UpThe Tigers hit the road as they take on Missouri next Friday at the Hearnes Center.&nbspPermalink Comments

BATON ROUGE - A former LSU diver is getting ready to add a new chapter to her already storied diving career.&nbspLizzie Cui tested the waters in the 2016 Olympics, and now shes diving back in, this time hoping to make a splash.I have a lot more experience under my belt. This is the games that I was really hoping to qualify for. Lizzie continued, So now being at that stage its a little surreal, because I didnt think I would have an Olympics under my belt already.But with her new depth of knowledge and experience, also comes higher expectations.&nbspA little more pressure because Ive already competed at one so technically I should do better but I have a lot of gratitude and Im just going to go out there and have fun, Lizzie says.&nbspHer coach Doug Shaffer says her growth and maturity at LSU has been phenomenal.Coach Shaffer is confident that Lizzie has what it takes to dive head-first into an Olympic pool packed with world class athletes.Lizzie has been diving since she was nine, and now 13 years later, she says its the younger generation who shes hoping to motivate. She wants to inspire them to one day take a leap of faith, of their own.Nothing is impossible, and to just have fun every step of the way. Dont take things too seriously because one day youll be proud of yourself for sticking to it, Lizzie tells young swimmers.&nbspIn the end, once its all said and done, Lizzie will take home the memories, the medals, and that tattoo she got the first time around, as a teenager.She said the tattoo goes along wiht her dream to get the rings.&nbsp&nbspI see all the Olympians on T.V with the rings and you cant get them unless you compete. So when I had that opportunity I was like Im going to get them, Lizzie said.&nbspLizzie may have graduated from LSU, but shes not trading in her purple and gold anytime soon.Her coach says shell spend the next two years with the team, as a graduate assistant.Permalink Comments

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. AP &mdash LSU couldn&rsquot find a way to stop Kira Lewis Jr. and Jaden Shackelford, or to beat Herbert Jones and his one healthy hand to rebounds.Lewis scored 27 points, Shackelford had 26 and Jones had a career-high 17 rebounds as Alabama held off a big comeback attempt by No. 25 LSU for an 88-82 victory on Saturday.Shackelford said it was &ldquomost definitely&rdquo a must-win game for the Crimson Tide, whose postseason hopes had faded.&ldquoWe knew coming into this game, we had to come in and get this win,&rdquo he said.The Tide 13-12, 6-6 Southeastern Conference knocked the Tigers 18-7, 9-3 from a share of the league top spot after blowing virtually all of an 18-point lead. Alabama also took No. 11 Auburn into overtime Wednesday night before losing.LSU came into the day in a three-way tie for atop the SEC with Auburn and No. 12 Kentucky but has lost three of its last four games since an 8-0 league start.&ldquoThe offensive rebounding in the second half was the difference for Alabama,&rdquo LSU coach Will Wade said. &ldquoThey had 10 of them in the second half.&ldquoWe obviously did a terrible job on Lewis, and Shackelford&rsquos just playing tremendously well.&rdquoDown 18 early in the second half, LSU made a big late surge. Trendon Watford scored on a drive and then Marlon Taylor stole Alabama&rsquos inbound pass and dished to Javonte Smart for a 3-pointer.Jones, who had five offensive rebounds after halftime, made two free throws to a huge ovation from the fans while playing with a cast on his left, shooting hand.&ldquoThat was the best crowd I&rsquove heard since I&rsquove been here,&rdquo first-year Alabama coach Nate Oats said. &ldquoIt kind of hit a fever pitch there when Herb stepped to the free throw line after they intentionally fouled him knowing that he didn&rsquot have his strong hand.&rdquoJones started working on shooting right-handed foul shots his first time back in the gym from surgery that sidelined him for three games.&ldquoIt came in handy when I got injured and I just kept working and believed in myself,&rdquo Jones said.But the Tigers came right back. Skylar Mays buried a 3 to make it 79-78 with 1:32 left.Finally, Alex Reese buried an open 3 from the top of the key with 39 seconds left and Shackelford added a layup off a turnover for a safe cushion.Lewis made 4 of 6 3-pointers and scored 18 in the second half to remain hot. He followed a 37-point game against Georgia with a triple-double in Auburn, the first of his career.Likewise, Shackelford made five 3s after hitting seven and scoring 28 points against Auburn.LSU&rsquos Skylar Mays had 24 points and nine rebounds in his third straight game scoring 20-plus. Watford, who&rsquos from nearby Birmingham, had 18 points before fouling out despite a cascade of boos from Tide fans every time he touched the ball. Smart scored 16, and he and Mays each hit four 3s.Emmitt Williams had 13 points and 10 rebounds.The Tide took a 59-41 lead on a layup by Lewis with 14:08 left. Then he hit a pair of 3-pointers to upend LSU&rsquos 9-0 run that briefly cut the deficit to single digits.Even that cozy lead evaporated.BIG PICTURELSU has given up at least 82 points in three of its last four games, losing all three. This one came against the nation&rsquos No. 2 scoring offense.&ldquoPretty much any good guard can get loose against us,&rdquo Wade said.Alabama made 13 of 35 3-pointers after sinking an SEC-record 22 against Auburn. The Tide had lost four of its last five games, starting with a 90-76 defeat at LSU, but committed just nine turnovers.HUDSON HONORED Former basketball star Wendell Hudson, Alabama&rsquos first African-American scholarship athlete, was honored at halftime. The jersey will be the school&rsquos first to be officially retired, though the No. 20 will remain in circulation. The winter and spring sports teams will wear a WH patch for the rest of the season.UP NEXTLSU: hosts No. 12 Kentucky on Tuesday night in a pivotal league battleAlabama: hosts Texas A&M on Wednesday night before a two-game road trip.Permalink Comments