No. 3 LSU 72, New Orleans 41

12/12/2005 11:11 PM

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Seimone Augustus downplayed her scoring milestone.

Augustus became the fourth player in LSU history to reach 2,000 career points, scoring 23 points in the No. 3 Tigers' 72-41 victory over New Orleans on Monday night.

``It seems like I just scored my 1,000th point,'' Augustus said. ``It really isn't a big deal. I'm just glad to be a part of history and get another accomplishment here. It's more about getting another victory than scoring 2,000 points.''

Augustus entered the game eight points shy of the milestone and scored seven in the first 6 minutes. The senior guard made a short jumper in the lane with 5:08 left in the first half to surpass the mark and join Joyce Walker (2,906), Julie Gross (2,488) and Cornelia Gayden (2,451) in the 2,000-point club.

``Seimone's time has gone by fast,'' LSU coach Pokey Chatman said. ``I remember her as a scrawny little graduate of Baton Rouge Capitol High School. She had two little muscles. She's been so successful from day one that time flies by.''

Augustus shot 9-for-12 and finished with six rebounds before leaving the game with 11 minutes remaining. Sylvia Fowles added 15 points and seven rebounds, and Quianna Chaney scored 12 points in a reserve role.

Reserve Jada Frazier led the Lady Privateers (2-5) with 12 points on four 3-pointers. Scoring leader Ashley Sentimore was held to three points on 1-for-8 shooting, well below her 15-point average.

The Lady Tigers (5-0) charged to a 12-0 lead in the first 4 minutes, and Augustus and Fowles combined for the first nine points.

``We came out ready to play,'' Fowles said. ``We seemed to be enthused. After the 15-day layoff, we showed some focus at the start.''

LSU, which won its 18th straight home game, had 14 steals and built a 38-18 lead in the opening 20 minutes. LSU scored 30 points of 28 turnovers, and the Lady Tigers extended their lead to 33 three times in the game.