The Southeastern Conference does not give a most improved player award for women’s basketball, but if it did, LSU forward Theresa Plaisance certainly would have made her bid.

A year removed from playing under 12 minutes per game and scoring 4.5 points per game as a sophomore, Plaisance shattered all preseason expectations by becoming the SEC’s leading scorer with 17 points per game in the same season when she started her first game.

“She emerged as one of the best 6-foot-5 players in the country,” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell in a news release. “She can do everything.”

It is the eighth time an LSU player has be crowned the SEC scoring champion, putting Plaisance in the company of such LSU greats as Joyce Walker, Cornelia Gayden and Seimone Augustus. 

Plaisance scored in double digits in all but the Lady Tigers’ season opener, finishing the season scoring double figures in 31 straight games. This is the longest streak of its kind by an LSU player since Seimone Augustus recorded an LSU best of 97 straight games from 2003 and 2006. 

Caldwell credited Plaisance’s teammates as the primary source of the forward’s increased confidence, a characteristic Caldwell said was the key to her improvement.

“Her teammates didn’t allow her to take a back seat,” Caldwell said. “They really supported her in everything that she was doing for our team by getting her the basketball, setting great screens for her and really being there for her. I thought that helped her confidence and knowing that she’s going to be a go-to for us.”

This improvement allowed Plaisance to help lead the Lady Tigers to their first appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament since 2008. 

“We had a special team this year,” Plaisance said. “We fought through so much adversity and stayed close knit through it all. We believed in each other.”

Plaisance also finished the season second in the SEC in blocks with 2.5 per game and fourth in rebounding with 8.3 per game. 

With the absence of senior guards Adrienne Webb and Bianca Lutley, Plaisance may have to play an even larger role in her final season. 

“I am happy about the individual progress I made this year,” Plaisance said. “This summer, I am going to continue to build on it and get ready for a great senior season.”

“She emerged as one of the best 6-foot-5 players in the country. She can do everything.”