Last season, then-senior guards Adrienne Webb and Bianca Lutley represented major threats for the LSU women’s basketball team. 
Webb led the team in scoring in the NCAA tournament and finished 17th in scoring in Lady Tiger history. Lutley chipped in 10.2 points and 4.1 rebounds a game, finishing fourth in scoring and third in rebounds for the season.
Now, with Webb and Lutley gone, questions in the backcourt arise for the Lady Tigers coming into the new season. Sophomore guard Danielle Ballard acknowledges these inquiries, but also knows she and the Lady Tigers’ newcomers can provide answers.
“The backcourt has the potential to be great,” Ballard said. “We have good chemistry on and off the court. We can score. We can play defense. They can rebound. … We have different talents, and that is going to be good for us this season.”
Ballard leads the new backcourt, coming off a 2013 Souteastern Conference All-Freshman and All-Defensive team campaign. She finished the season third on the team in scoring and set the LSU single-season record for steals         with 100.
Ballard displayed her versatility in Sunday’s 80-64 win against St. Joseph’s, nearly getting a triple double with 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Head coach Nikki Caldwell said Ballard’s large skill set will be used more often this season.
“I think Danielle has done a great job of expanding her game,” Caldwell said. “She has taken on a lot of the leadership roles for us at the point, but I like to bring in [senior guard] Jeanne Kenney and [freshman guard] Rina Hill and move her off the ball because she is so explosive.”
The Lady Tigers also boast a new backcourt asset in junior guard DaShawn Harden, who received SEC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honors after averaging 19.5 points a game in the team’s two wins. 
Harden, a transfer from Johnson County Community College, was highly recuited coming out of high school, including being rated top-40 in the nation for the class of 2011 by ESPN Hoop Gurlz. After leaving Oklahoma in her freshman year, she led Johnson County to a 30-2 record and a No. 1 national ranking in the NJCAA Division 1 poll.
Harden said after all the traveling, she has found a home with her new team.
“I love it here. I love the coaches, and they really make me feel at home,” Harden said. “I feel like we are a family, and I love that family atmosphere.”
The new guards continue with the addition of freshman guard Raigyne Moncrief. Moncrief was highly touted in high school and is the highest guard signee for LSU since signing Allison Hightower in 2006.
Moncrief displayed her toughness in Sunday’s win when she came back from a hyperextended knee injury in the first half. Caldwell confirmed Moncrief will start in Thursday’s game against Louisville, and said her resiliency is one of her most remarkable attributes.
“We were all holding our breath there when she went down,” Caldwell said. “But she is such a tough player, and she has got this competitive spirit about her and nothing is going to hold her back.” 
The Lady Tigers take on Louisville at 6 p.m. Thursday night at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. Ballard said the holes left by Webb and Lutley are real, but it is time for her and others to step up, especially in games like these.
“It is very hard to replace them, because I never really stepped up to be a leader,” Ballard said. “But since they gone, I have to really step up to be a leader. It is important to control the team and get back to where we were.”