LSU hit with controversial technical foul in Final Four vs. Virginia Tech

Late in the third quarter of a Final Four game between LSU and Virginia Tech officials made a controversial call, hitting the Tigers with a technical foul.

It was hard to see anything obvious on the television broadcast of the game, and the officials appeared to call a technical foul on LSU’s Kateri Poole for saying something following a made basket.

According to LSU women’s basketball beat writer for The Advertiser, Cory Diaz, Poole apparently got hit with the technical foul because she said “And 1” after the made basket.

The sequence began with LSU in possession on the offensive end.

After a pair of blocked shots down low, LaDazhia Williams came up with the loose ball under the rim and was able to put it back up for a bucket, cutting Virginia Tech’s lead to 53-48.

But as Williams and others were sprinting back on defense, the official on the baseline signaled for a technical foul.

Virginia Tech shot a pair of free throws on the other end, making both at a relatively key juncture in the game.

LSU and Virginia Tech battling

In a back-and-forth affair it was LSU that got out to an early lead in the first quarter and early in the second. The Tigers led 20-13 early on in the second quarter before the Hokies began to fight back.

Virginia Tech got out to a sizeable lead in the third quarter after taking a 34-32 lead at halftime.

Flummoxing LSU defensively for an extended stretch, Virginia used a combination of its defense and shooting to build a 51-39 lead.

Of course, the Tigers were not going down without a fight.

Over the third quarter and the fourth quarter, LSU managed to turn it back into a respectable contest and then even took the lead. LSU’s transition offense and points in the paint were key factors in the surge.