The LSU women’s basketball team heads to Auburn on Thursday looking to improve its standing in the Southeastern Conference with an uncommon road win.
The Lady Tigers (12-8, 3-4 SEC) have lost all four of their away SEC games, but LSU coach Nikki Caldwell said better rebounding and stronger defense can help LSU win this game outside of Baton Rouge.
“If we can make the conscious effort to defend harder and be tougher on the board, then things will fall our way,” Caldwell said. “Hopefully we get tired of losing on the road enough that we make that an important part of our game plan.”
Junior forward Theresa Plaisance continues to lead the Lady Tigers with averages of 18 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Adrienne Webb and sophomore guard Danielle Ballard follow Plaisance with 13 points per game a piece, with Ballard adding clips of six rebounds and three steals.
Sophomore guard Hasina Muhammad leads Auburn (13-7, 2-5 SEC) in scoring, averaging 16 points per game, and blocks, tallying 26 total this season.
Caldwell said the team not only needs to disrupt Muhammad’s game, but keep turnovers to a minimum, limit putback opportunities and remain competitive for the entire game.
“One thing that this group has got to understand [is] that it is a 40-minute basketball game,” Caldwell said. “If we can ever wrap our mentality to play 40 minutes of LSU basketball, we’ll come out with a victory.”
Caldwell said the team runs out of that “little push” toward the end of the game, which she credits to the young bench with only three veteran players.
At the end of the games when the Lady Tigers are only down by four, Caldwell said LSU is still in the game. But Caldwell said small mistakes like missed rebounds usually cost LSU the victory.
“Those are the plays that we cannot continue to give people because they’re capitalizing on it,” Caldwell said.
In regards to LSU’s postseason prospects, Caldwell said the team is “below the bubble” as far as wins, but also that success is attainable if it can overcome its mental quirks.
“We’ve got a chance still,” Caldwell said. “They can play with some of the best teams in the country, they just have to believe now that they can beat them.”
