The LSU women’s basketball team continues its brutal conference schedule when it challenges No. 5 Tennessee in Knoxville, at 6 p.m. tonight on the SEC Network.
The Lady Tigers (10-8, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) face their fifth ranked opponent in six games in Tennessee (15-3, 5-0 SEC), which has yet to lose at home this season.
After a slow start to the year, LSU has turned things around with back-to-back wins against top-15 teams. The Lady Tigers look to get another important victory under their belt to make a run at the NCAA Tournament.
LSU coach Nikki Caldwell, a former player and assistant coach for former Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt, acknowledged her ties to the program. However, she said she still considers this a business trip.
“In playing Tennessee, obviously there is a personal feeling that I have toward that program with the relationship I have, not only with the staff, but obviously Coach Summitt. What she has meant, not only to many of us as former players, but just what she has meant to the women’s game,” Caldwell said. “We are playing extremely hard, and we are playing this game with togetherness and unity. It’s going to be a hard-fought game, like any SEC opponent.”
Though LSU has lost five of its last six matchups against Tennessee during Caldwell’s tenure, the Lady Tigers prevailed over then-No. 5 Tennessee last year when they traveled to Thompson-Boling Arena.
Sophomore guard Raigyne Moncrief said the Lady Tigers are a different team this year, but that they can still learn from last season’s victory.
“I remember [junior guard] Danielle [Ballard] just going crazy, also Theresa Plaisance and Jeanne Kenney,” Moncrief said. “You know that it’s possible. Some people say its hard to win in there, and it is. But it’s definitely possible, and we’ve shown a lot of people that it’s possible. I think that boosts our confidence up a little more.”
The return of Ballard has improved the LSU offense and played a significant role in the team’s recent upsets of then-No. 15 Mississippi State and then-No. 10 Kentucky. She averaged 24.5 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals in the two wins. 
Nevertheless, Caldwell said LSU needs to be more aggressive near the basket if it wants to pull a third upset.
“Their strength is their ability to rebound the basketball. We’re going to have to step our level of toughness up because that’s all board play is about,” Caldwell said. “They’re really looking to get the ball inside whether it’s off the dribble drive and an extra pass. If we can control or really eliminate those second and third opportunities, that’s going to be an advantage for us.”
If LSU wins, it will be the first time an SEC team has won back-to-back games in Knoxville in consecutive seasons. 
Sophomore guard Jasmine Rhodes said if LSU enters the game with the same approach it had against Mississippi State, the Lady Tigers will earn the much-needed victory for their tournament.
“We’re hungry, and were ready to win. So I think were gonna go in with the same mentality or an even bigger mentality,” Rhodes said. “We have to beat this team. We’re on their home court, and we have to go in confident and ready.” 
You can reach Stanton Vignes on  Twitter @stanvignes_TDR.