In each of the past two seasons, the LSU women’s basketball team has advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.
This would be considered a major success for most teams or players, but not for junior guard Danielle Ballard and the Lady Tigers.
After watching many of her teammates fall to injury in the Southeastern Conference and NCAA tournaments, Ballard knew she needed to step up for her team, but her performances exceeded coach Nikki Caldwell’s expectations.
Ballard averaged 23.3 points, 14 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in the Lady Tigers three tournament games, including a 17-rebound performance against Georgia Tech in the first round that gave her a new career-high.
Three of Ballard’s top seven career-scoring performances came in LSU’s three NCAA tournament games last season, pouring in 24 against Georgia Tech, 22 against West Virginia and 24 against Louisville.
The last LSU player to score 20 or more points in three consecutive games was Theresa Plaisance early in the 2012-13 season.
Caldwell said Ballard was extraordinary in her effort to keep the Lady Tigers’ NCAA tournament run alive.
“Danielle did a phenomenal job last year in really stepping up her game in postseason,” Caldwell said. “She did a nice job of carrying the load, if you will, from the point guard position especially when Jeanne Kenney went out and Raigyne Moncrief went down.”
Stepping up for big games is nothing new to Ballard. Six of her top eight career- scoring performances are against top-25 teams.
Ballard said she takes those top-25 games as an opportunity to prove she belongs on that large of a stage.
Senior forward Sheila Boykin said Ballard’s toughness helps her play at the top of her game against top opponents.
“Danielle is just that player that I can’t explain what she does,” Boykin said. “She has a bit of a street ball knack to her.”
Ballard said carrying over her success from the NCAA tournament is important to the team, but she remains focused on doing what’s best for her teammates.
Junior guard Akilah Bethel said the speed of the backcourt will help Ballard carry her game over to this season because when they run, the game flows better for her talents.
“Bringing the fire [Ballard] had from last season to this season with all the new players and all the returning guards, we’re going to be faster,” Bethel said. “I think it’ll be easier for her to transition that over to this year because we’re going to be so much faster.”
But even though the Lady Tigers are returning a large number of guards, they did lose their offensive leader in point guard Jeanne Kenney. Ballard said she isn’t a very outspoken leader on the court, but she isn’t afraid to pump up the team before a game and lead the team through her actions.
Caldwell said Ballard’s NCAA tournament experience will make her a better leader this season.
“We’re expecting [Ballard’s] leadership to carry over,” Caldwell said. “She did a nice job for us over the summer in working out and being that leader who led by example.”
While Ballard dominated offensively through the tournament, the biggest contribution of her LSU career has been her ability to force turnovers.
In her freshman season, she recorded 100 steals and became the first LSU player — man or woman — to record 100 steals in a season.
Ballard took a dip in the steals category last season, recording only 42 steals. Ballard said she will get back to her top defensive form this season to help fill the void of her departed teammates — something she has gotten used to at this point.
“From a freshman to sophomore to now being a junior, I have developed more as a player,” Ballard said. “I think you will see someone who was better than they were and someone who wants to do what’s best for the team.”