When the LSU women’s basketball team steps onto the floor for its regular season opener today, the sun will be shining brightly outside, and the PMAC will be filled with the din of thousands of young Tiger fans. 
The Lady Tigers will open the 2014-15 season with their annual “Field Trip” game against the University of Arkansas-Little Rock at 11:30 a.m. in the PMAC.
“We’re probably going to have over 3,000 elementary kids here in the stands coming to support our team,” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell. “I’m really excited about the connection that our marketing team has made with our community to allow them to come in and watch a very quality basketball game.”
LSU welcomes UALR to Baton Rouge for the first time. After the Lady Tigers beat the Trojans, 58-51, away from home last season, LSU hopes to extend its lead to 2-0 in the all-time record against UALR.
Last season, the Lady Tigers struggled to stop the Trojans’ then-junior guard Taylor Gault, who led UALR with 12 points and four assists. 
“[Gault is] another year seasoned, and last year she set the tone,” Caldwell said. “I think that when you play a player like Gault, you’re going to have to limit her touches. Awareness is going to be key and knowing where she’s at all times on the floor.”
On the court, the Lady Tigers are a different team than the Trojans faced last season. Without former-forwards Shanece McKinney  and Theresa Plaisance, the Lady Tigers lack size defending the paint, yet LSU makes up for it with speed and athleticism on the defensive end. 
In their two exhibition games, the Lady Tigers’ press defense excelled at forcing turnovers with an average of 35 turnovers per game. 
“I like the mobility of our team,” Caldwell said. “I like the fact that we’re able to do a lot of different things in our defensive scheme — 94 feet from the basket. We’re going to be able to press more. We’re going to be able to trap more because we’re going to have quickness out of the rotation.” 
Offensively, the Lady Tigers’ versatility creates a dynamic offensive attack in transition and in the half-court set. 
“It’s going to be a great battle on Friday, and it’s definitely going to be a game of who establishes their running game, who establishes their transition and really gets out there and scores,” Caldwell said.
LSU’s offense this season depends heavily on the play of the guards. 
Freshman guard Jenna Deemer led LSU in scoring in both exhibitions with a combined 40 points, including shooting 70 percent from behind the 3-point-line. After suffering an ACL tear to end last season, sophomore guard Raigyne Moncrief has come back in the Lady Tigers’ exhibitions playing hard and forcing turnovers. Moncrief recorded eight steals in LSU’s exhibitions, despite only playing a combined 51 minutes. 
Moncrief said after the Loyola exhibition, her first game in eight months, that she didn’t think about her knee once. 
After the game today, the Lady Tigers will play again against Sam Houston State at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in the PMAC. 
“We’re going to have some nerves,” said junior guard Anne Pedersen. “We have to know that we know our stuff and have been preparing for all summer. So we’re ready.”  
You can reach Morgan Prewitt on Twitter @kmprewitt_TDR.