After defeating No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee, LSU women’s basketball has advanced to the Sweet 16 and will take on No. 2 seed UCLA on Sunday at noon.
The Tigers took down No. 14 seed Rice in the first round, 70-60, and pulled away against the Blue Raiders, winning 83-56. However, between shooting 43.1% from the field and averaging 15.5 turnovers in their two tournament games, offensively, they have not had their best game yet.
Although their offense hasn’t been the best, their defense, on the other hand, has made up for that. Throughout the season, one of the most important aspects of their game that they had to focus on was their defense.
After losing to teams such as Colorado, South Carolina and Mississippi State in the regular season, their defense started to be considered a concern moving forward, but it has been far from that these past couple of months.
Since losing to the Bulldogs on Jan. 29, LSU has held its opponents to an average of 61.3 points per game, including only giving up 70 points once.
For the Tigers, it was simple things that were holding them back defensively, such as giving up second-chance opportunities or losing sight of a player who had a wide-open shot. While they still tend to do these, it has gotten much better since January.
In both of their tournament games, the Tigers struggled to take care of the ball and make shots consistently. As they were still figuring things out on the offensive side of the ball, their defense was able to create points for them.
Against the Owls, they were able to force 18 turnovers, including 14 steals and eight blocks. They also held them to 60 points while shooting 35.4% from the field and 29.6% from three. In their second-round matchup against Middle Tennessee, the Blue Raiders had 16 turnovers and shot 33.9% from the field and 25.8% from three.
The ability of the Tigers to guard all five positions well and switch everything is why they are succeeding on defense. Everyone on the team has the same mindset and goal, and it’s starting to show on the court. Hailey Van Lith is a prime example.
From going to school, where she was the first option, averaging 15.4 points per game, to being the third to fourth option, averaging only 11.8 points per game, she has sacrificed.
Van Lith has sacrificed her stats for the team. Her job against Middle Tennessee was to guard their leading scorer, Sarah Wheeler. Wheeler had 21 points but only shot 33% from the field and went 1-for-8 from the 3-point line. She also had seven turnovers that game.
“I have a different role every game,” Van Lith said. “Some games I need to score, some games I need to play defense and rebound, and some games I need to get stops. We’re at the point in the year where I just get to do whatever my role is in that game, and I’m going to.”
The same goes for Flau’jae Johnson. Although she has improved a lot on offense with her efficiency, she has solidified herself as arguably the best defender on the team as she takes on the role of guarding the opposing team’s best players.
Angel Reese was awarded SEC All-Defensive Team as she was also getting put on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist with her teammate Aneesah Morrow. Last-Tear Poa comes off the bench and is immediately one of the best defenders on the team.
Having a team full of players who can defend well is going to lead to success during their season. When you are having trouble scoring as they did in their tournament games, you have another way to score and get back into games.
