After notching its fourth straight home victory against Missouri Monday, the LSU women’s basketball team hits the road again to battle Auburn at 6 p.m. tonight.
Although the Lady Tigers (12-9, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) have hit their stride winning four of their last five games, LSU coach Nikki Caldwell refuses to allow her team to overlook any opponent just weeks away from a potential postseason bid.
“We’re in a position right now to really make a statement, not only for us within the conference, but getting into the [NCAA] tournament,” Caldwell said. “We need to make sure we’re controlling the controllables and not underestimating anyone at this time during the season.”
Auburn (9-13, 0-9 SEC) is an easy team for LSU to glance over with games against rival Alabama and No. 1 South Carolina around the corner. But the Lady Tigers can learn from their upsets (of then-No. 15 Mississippi State and then-No. 10 Kentucky) anything is possible in the SEC.
In the last month, LSU rose from a .500 record to fifth in conference standings with a combination of an offensive rebirth sparked by the return of junior guard Danielle Ballard and dominant defense. The Lady Tigers have posted a 5-2 record since Ballard returned on Jan. 8 against Vanderbilt.
Against Auburn, the Lady Tigers look to continue their offensive success centered around spreading the basketball and finding the hot hand.
Despite averaging 11.6 assists and 65.3 points per game, LSU has posted 12.4 dishes per game and 71.4 points per game during its last five games.
Although Ballard is known for her 20-plus point scoring performances, she has contributed in the Lady Tiger’s last five games by distributing the basketball. The Memphis native is averaging 4.2 assists during the five-game stretch.
Sophomore guards Raigyne Moncrief and Rina Hill have also stepped it up offensively adding a combined 21.2 points per game in LSU’s last five games.
LSU has come alive from behind the arc in its last two games, shooting 40.9 percent. Junior guard Anne Pedersen , freshman guard Jenna Deemer and senior guard DaShawn Harden led the Lady Tigers from 3-point land, shooting a combined 7-for-19.
“It felt good,” Pedersen said. “It was nice to be in a rhythm and finally feel like the PMAC was with me. It was a great team win [against Missouri], and it was nice to be able to contribute.”
Defensively, the Lady Tigers hope to return to playing dominant defense after allowing Missouri to rally back in the second half with a 21-3 run. The rally came only one game after they held Ole Miss to 41 points.
LSU hopes to return to its trademark ability to force turnovers. Against Ole Miss, the Lady Tigers turned the Rebels over 30 times, allowing them to control the game’s pace.
When Missouri made its run in the second half, LSU struggled creating turnovers, notching just 11 forced turnovers in the second half.
“We will back back to our strength, which is our defensive intensity and our ability to disrupt you in the full-court,” Caldwell said. “We’re going to hopefully utilize our defense to generate that offense.”