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Auburn shocks No. 11 LSU in overtime

Jan 11, 2010 - 12:09 AM BATON ROUGE, La.(AP) -- Auburn center KeKe Carrier had trouble getting out of bed Sunday, and it cost her a start in front of the family and friends who drove almost two hours to see her play at LSU.

Fortunately for Carrier, she and her Auburn teammates knew how to finish.

Auburn rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final two minutes of regulation to force overtime then held No. 11 LSU to just one basket in the extra period to pull off a 64-62 upset. Auburn (10-6, 1-2) won in SEC play for the first time this season after capturing the regular-season conference title a year ago.

LSU fell to 13-2 and 2-1 after opening SEC play with a pair of road wins.

Carrier, a senior center from Lake Charles, La., and freshman guard Morgan Toles each had 17 points for Auburn. Alli Smalley chipped in 14 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

"We called time out and I knew which play coach would call," Toles said of Smalley's 3-pointer. "You should see her in practice. She makes those shots all the time. I had confidence she would make it."

Playing in a "reserve" role, Carrier entrenched herself in the low post and made things difficult for LSU all day. She shot 8 of 16 from the field and added six rebounds and two blocked shots.

"I kind of woke up late," Carrier said, which made her late for Auburn's morning shoot around.

Once Carrier got in the game, knowing she had her own personal rooting section amid the sea of purple and gold LSU fans helped her stay energized.

"I was excited to see my family and have, in a way, a home crowd," Carrier said. "It was good to see them and know they had my back in an away game."

LaSondra Barrett had a career-high tying 27 points and 10 grabbed 10 rebounds to lead LSU. Despite her play, the sophomore was in an apologetic mood after the loss.

"I probably won't be able to sleep tonight," Barrett said. "We let them (LSU's fans) down. Credit to Auburn, but we will face teams a lot tougher than Auburn."

Barrett got little offensive support on what was a difficult offensive day for LSU.

The Lady Tigers had no other players in double figure scoring beside Barrett. LSU's leading scorer, senior guard Allison Hightower, finished with nine points, but missed long stretches of the second half and overtime with recurring leg cramps.

LSU shot 37.3 percent for the game compared to 47 percent for Auburn and was outrebounded 46-34.

"This is one of the toughest regular-season losses I've ever had," a dejected LSU coach Van Chancellor said. "All we had to do is execute."

LSU trailed much of the game but surged to a 57-50 lead with 1:54 left in regulation on a jumper by Barrett.

But Auburn, which led by as many as six midway through the second half, stormed back to complete regulation with a 9-2 run capped by Smalley's 3-pointer.

"We were just happy to be in overtime because we had to come back and fight to get to that," Auburn coach Nell Fortner said. "We weren't thinking about anything other than playing hard for five minutes and winning the game."

LSU got the opening basket of overtime on a jumper by Destini Hughes, but LSU would miss its last seven field goal attempts while Auburn took the lead for good, 63-61, on a basket by Jordan Greenleaf with 2:17 remaining.

LSU still had a chance to force a second overtime period when Toles missed a free throw with 11.5 seconds left, but Hughes' driving layup hit the underside of the rim with just over a second remaining.

"No excuse," Hughes said. "I should have made it. Next time I get that opportunity, it'll go in."