Two Southeastern Conference contests in the LSU women’s basketball schedule have come down to the simplest of plays on the court.
This season, LSU is shooting 69 percent from the line — down from 71 percent in 2012 and 2013. Senior forward Theresa Plaisance is hitting 69 percent of her team-leading 107 attempts, and senior guard Jeanne Kenney was the most effective shooter, hitting 89.5 percent of her 57 tries.
The issue hasn’t been the squad’s success rate — it’s been how often the team has taken its attempts.
When the Lady Tigers opened their home conference schedule against unranked Texas A&M on Jan. 9, they were riding a three-game winning streak that would set the tone for the stretch of contests ahead.
LSU suffered through an abysmal first half from the field, shooting 9-of-33. Even worse, the Lady Tigers failed to take a single free throw before they went into the locker room at halftime.
The Aggies took advantage of the lack of fouls, building momentum through the end of the first half and into the second, eventually taking a nine-point lead with 14:04 remaining in the game.
It wasn’t until Plaisance began going to the line in the second half that LSU went on a 14-0 run. The Lady Tigers ended the contest with 21 attempts from the line in the second half, converting 15. But the deficit was too much to overcome, and Texas A&M upset the then-No. 12 Lady Tigers.
Plaisance said the squad has struggled to get to the line for multiple reasons.
“It’s a mixture of placement on the floor of where we’re receiving the ball and where we’re going up with the ball, and then the fact that we’re a little intimidated by the charges that are being called against us from the guard side,” Plaisance said.
Efficiency from the free throw line has also helped LSU recently.
Auburn rolled into the PMAC on Jan. 23, hoping to end a poor stretch of SEC losses. LSU struggled shooting from the field, making only 38 percent of its shots. The Lady Tigers’ effectiveness from the free throw line became crucial, and they were successful on 69.6 of their 23 attempts.
LSU was able to keep momentum in its favor, while Auburn went in the opposite direction.
Plaisance said knocking down free throws was extremely important, especially since the lack of shots from the line hurt the squad in the past.
Auburn went to the line 13 times in the second half, making only four shots. LSU used Auburn’s ineffectiveness to pick up defensive rebounds and pull away in a 71-60 win.
“They were actually a pretty good shooting percentage team from the free throw line,” Plaisance said. “The post did a great job of getting down to the block, but it was really all on our guard play with our transition off of our missed free throws.”
Moving forward, the Lady Tigers will need to find themselves at the free throw line early and often as they move deeper into the SEC schedule.
When LSU travels to No. 13 Kentucky on Sunday, it will be facing a Wildcats squad that is statistically worse at the line than its opponents. Kentucky has made 65.4 percent of its free throws compared to 66.7 percent made by opposing teams.
LSU can take advantage using aggressive play around the basket.
“Getting in the paint is really important for our team because we have very aggressive play in our guards,” said senior forward Shanece McKinney. “If we can get to the rim, then we’re going to get to the rim. So drawing those fouls is very important because sometimes that saves us in games.”
“It is extremely important…knocking down free throws was crucial for us because it bit us in a few games in the past.”