After suffering its first season opening loss since 2010 on Friday, the LSU women’s basketball team rebounded with a 71-45 victory against Sam Houston State on Saturday.
“We didn’t play very well yesterday, and we cannot go through the season picking and choosing when we are going to bring our energy and enthusiasm,” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell. “I just challenged them to do that, and that was the big difference between the two games.”
From tip-off, the Lady Tigers (1-1) came out with energy in their full-court press defense, which created pressure on the Sam Houston State’s (0-1) offense early.
LSU’s defense forced 10 turnovers, including seven steals, in the first half.
The Lady Tigers held the Bearkats to only 25 points in the first half. Despite a lack of size in the paint, LSU limited Sam Houston State to only eight points in the paint during the first half through their speed to the ball.
“It started with our defensive pressure,” Caldwell said. “We were really committed to not only trying to trap out of our half court, but I thought our full court pressure really set the tone for us.”
While the Lady Tigers’ flew around the court defensively, they struggled to create a rhythm on the offensive end.
In the first half, LSU could not get shots to fall, shooting 33.3 percent from the field.
The one bright spot offensively for the Lady Tigers came in the shape of freshman guard Jenna Deemer, who in the first half shot 4-for-6 including a 66.7 clip from behind the 3-point line.
Near the end of the first half, Deemer changed the momentum of the game for LSU in the course of two possessions.
With a little over a minute remaining in the half, Deemer hit a 3-pointer on the left wing.
In transition, Deemer used a spin move to shake off a defender, opening up a lane to the basket for a layup with 54 seconds remaining in the half.
“It gave us a little motivation, a little tempo and our defensive stops got converted,” said Deemer.
This momentum changed the tide of the game. LSU started the second half with a 13-to-0 run.
After being unable to spark a rally to content with the Trojans on Friday, the Lady Tigers combined offensive efficiency and defensive stops to steadily extend their lead throughout the second half.
In the second half, LSU outscored the Bearkats by 19 points, shooting 55.6 percent from the floor in the second half.
Despite having less than 24 hours to prepare for Saturday’s game, the Lady Tigers played with energy on both ends of the court and closed down the Bearkats’ office in the second half.
“You just have to get over it, you can’t go back,” said freshman forward Stephanie Amichia. “There’s no time machine to go back and fix anything. You take what you need from that game. You capitalize off of the things you did well and you learn from your mistakes. I think we did a good job – just coming off of a loss and of forgetting it and moving forward.”