Allison Hightower scored a career-high 32 points and No. 7 LSU held off Louisiana Tech 77-74 on Tuesday night for its 31st straight victory over in-state opponents.
LaSondra Barrett added 14 points for the Lady Tigers (6-0) and Taylor Turnbow had 12. LSU has not lost to an in-state foe since Dec. 31, 1999, at Tulane.
Shanavia Dowdell led Louisiana Tech (3-1) with 26 points, while Adrienne Johnson had 17.
Hightower's 32 points were the most by an LSU player since two-time national player of the year Seimone Augustus had 35 in 2006.
Louisiana Tech pulled to 75-74 with less than a minute left, but Latear Eason hit a pair of free throws for LSU with 12.6 seconds to go.
The score was tied at 11 with 14:34 left in the first half when Turnbow's basket sparked an 8-1 run that gave LSU the lead for good.
The Lady Techsters got as close as 24-22 with 6 minutes remaining in the first half, but LSU went on a 19-6 surge behind 10 points from Hightower to head into halftime up 43-28.
