Whether she is changing momentum with a strong drive to the basket or nailing a 3-pointer as time expires to push a game into double-overtime, junior guard Danielle Ballard is the unquestioned star of the LSU women’s basketball team.
Despite sitting out the Lady Tigers’ first 14 games with an indefinite suspension due to a violation of team rules, Ballard has led LSU to a 2-2 record against ranked teams, including victories against then-No. 15 Mississippi State on Jan. 15 and then-No. 10 Kentucky on Jan. 18.
As crucial as Ballard is to the Lady Tigers’ success, the improvement of the supporting cast around her is essential for LSU to make the postseason and compete against some of the top teams in the country remaining on LSU’s Southeastern Conference schedule.
“Ballard is an All-American. She’s one of the best guards in the country,” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell. “She has the ability to make other people around here very good. When she does that, and when she’s up there with five, six, seven assists, other people are going to shine. We talk about that, and we talk about the fact that there are times when Danielle does need to take over.”
Although Ballard’s ability to take over games has won the Lady Tigers two games against ranked opponents, LSU needs players to step up in other offensive roles to take pressure off Ballard and create a multifaceted attack.
On the perimeter, senior guard DaShawn Harden and freshman guard Jenna Deemer have to re-establish the 3-point threat.
Before Ballard’s return, Harden led LSU with 24 3-pointers made, and Deemer led the Lady Tigers by shooting 42.9 percent from behind the arc.
In the last five games with Ballard back, the rest of the Lady Tigers have struggled from 3-point land, shooting a combined 19.5 percent.
Deemer leads the Lady Tigers with five 3-pointers made since Ballard’s return. Even with its recent troubles shooting from 3-point range, LSU ranks fourth in the conference in 3-point percentage.
Senior forward Sheila Boykin has become LSU’s workhorse in the paint by establishing a constant presence on the glass and developing into a consistent offensive threat.
Coming into her senior season, Boykin averaged 1.8 points per game and 2.2 rebounds per game. Since Ballard has returned, Boykin has flourished, averaging 6.2 points and six boards per game.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to be better at,” Boykin said. “If I have a shot that they are giving me, I’m going to take it. If I can take someone off the dribble, I’m going to go for it, and if they take it away from me, I know that my teammate is going to be open. It’s just reading what the defense gives you.”
Although sophomore guards Raigyne Moncrief and Rina Hill struggled at times during Ballard’s suspension, the two have stepped up to support Ballard in key games.
Ballard paced LSU with 24 points against Mississippi State, but Moncrief led the remaining Lady Tigers with 18 points and a team-leading three assists.
Hill’s performance against then-No. 5 Tennessee shows the importance of having offensive options beside Ballard. The Lady Volunteers held Ballard scoreless until she hit a layup with 4:30 remaining in the half. While Ballard struggled to find her rhythm, Hill stepped up and tallied a season-high 12 points.
Although Ballard and Moncrief finished with 15 points each against Tennessee, the surge was too late, and the Lady Tigers fell to 4-3 in SEC play.
“Rina Hill did a nice job of really being steady for us and being aggressive,” Caldwell said after the loss to Tennessee loss. “I thought she didn’t play scared at all. She was in there helping with the post game. She did a nice job of rotating over whenever they did try to go inside, and she got some steals and deflections.”
You can reach Morgan Prewitt on Twitter @kmprewitt_TDR.