After winning the season opener with a fast tempo and an offensive explosion, the LSU women’s basketball team showed no signs of slowing down, defeating the St. Joseph’s Hawks (1-1) 80-64 on Sunday afternoon at the PMAC in the second round of the Preseason Women’s National Invitational Tournament.
Along with the 86-58 victory against Stephen F. Austin on Friday, the Lady Tigers (2-0) are off to a historic start. Three or more players have finished with double-digit points in both games, and this is the first time the team has scored at least 80 points in its first two games since 2001.
“I think one of the more important things to take away is how we’re going to play,” said head coach Nikki Caldwell. “We want to be a team that generates runs, but we still have got to be able to answer people’s runs.”
The Lady Tigers put together a late run in the first half to take a 40-25 lead into the break. After a few Hawk rallies cut the lead to single digits, the team pulled away with the offensive play of junior guard DaShawn Harden and senior forward Theresa Plaisance.
Sophomore guard Danielle Ballard nearly brought in a triple-double, registering 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Ballard earned preseason second team All-Southeastern Conference honors after averaging 12.1 points and 6.5 rebounds last season.
“You can’t really coach what Danielle does; it’s just raw talent,” Plaisance said. “Her work ethic and her hustle on top of that makes her an even better player, and she’s just a sophomore. It’s scary to see where she could be as a senior.”
St. Joseph’s offense was powered by senior guard Erin Shields, who led all scorers with 23 points, including an impressive 7-12 from three-point range. Sophomore forward Sarah Fairbanks helped the Hawks as well, putting up 11 points and nine rebounds.
Harden led the Lady Tigers in scoring for the second consecutive game, registering 19 points on 5-15 shooting.
Plaisance, a preseason National Player of the Year candidate, chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds, including 11 points in the first half.
The Lady Tigers had a scare late in the first half when freshman guard Raigyne Moncrief went down with a hyperextended knee and had to be helped off the court. Moncrief came back, however, and finished with nine points and six rebounds.
LSU showed great improvement on the glass after a disappointing performance against SFA. The Lady Tigers outrebounded the Hawks 50-30, including a 17-8 advantage in offensive rebounds.
“We talked [after Friday’s game] about the fact that we needed to control the boards,” Caldwell said. “Their game plan was obviously not to send everybody to the boards but to set their defense.”
LSU will play in the semifinals of the WNIT on Thursday when it takes on the winner of the Louisville-Quinnipiac game Monday. The location and time of the game remains to be determined.

Gallery • 10 Photos

Angela Major

LSU freshman guard Raigyne Moncrief (11) runs down the court Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013 during the Tigers' 80-64 victory against St. Joseph's University in the PMAC.