There’s a meal waiting for the Lady Tigers tonight, and it comes in the form of last year’s national championship runner-up.
Last season, the LSU women’s basketball team finished 22-12 with an appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. LSU coach Nikki Caldwell said that last season’s team was hungry, but this year’s team is starving.
No. 14 LSU (2-0) will face its first true test when it plays the No. 5 Louisville Cardinals (2-0) tonight in the semifinals of the 2013 Preseason Women’s National Invitational at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
“When you play in the WNIT, you know that you are going to get some quality opponents, and we will be facing one on Thursday,” Caldwell said. “Louisville has a very balanced team. They have got veteran players. … This is a 40-minute game, and we are going to have to play for 40.”
The Lady Tigers came into the 2013 season with one of their best offenses in years, averaging 83 points per game and having at least three players score double figures in LSU’s first two games. The source of this offense comes from easy points created by the Lady Tigers’ defense, averaging 10.5 steals a game.
Junior guard DaShawn Harden established herself as a major cog in the team, averaging 19.5 points and 3.5 steals in the team’s two wins this season. Her performances helped her receive Southeastern Conference Player of the Week honors.
Louisville posted its best season in school history last year, going 29-9 and making its first ever National Championship game appearance. The Cardinals run through the tournament included a win against No. 1 Baylor, handing the Bears their second loss of the season.
The Cardinals’ top performer is senior guard Shoni Schimmel, who averaged 14.2 points and 3.6 assists last season, leading the team in both categories. Schimmel turned her game up in the tournament, averaging 16.5 points per game, including three games with 20 points or more.
“She is just a student of the game,” Caldwell said. “She has the ability to not only create scoring opportunities for herself, but she can create opportunities for her teammates. That is definitely a sign of a great player.”
The greatest weapon in the Cardinals arsenal is their 3-point shooting, having two different players who made more than 60 3-pointers last season. LSU struggled defending the three in its first two games, allowing St. Joseph’s guard Erin Sheilds to score 23 points and seven 3-pointers.
Caldwell said she and her coaching staff will prepare a scouting report that will fix the team’s problems defending behind the arc.
The Cardinals also include a physical style that centers on rebounding around the paint and driving to the basket. Caldwell said her team is well-versed in this style from playing in the SEC.
“We play in the best conference in the country. No one can argue the physicality of playing in the SEC,” Caldwell said. “We have got to be ready to sit down low in our stance on defense and when we’re posting up. We have got to play athletic and we have got to play with our quickness.”
Caldwell said this game will be very important toward the team’s tournament résumé, and the need for focus is essential.
“We want to take every opponent as though we are playing our last game.” Caldwell said. “The one thing we want to do is make sure we stay in the moment, and that moment is Thursday against a very good Louisville team.”