With the Southeastern Conference postseason looming, the LSU women’s basketball team isn’t taking a likely NCAA tournament bid for granted.
The Lady Tigers (20-9, 10-6 SEC) play the winner of Arkansas and Ole Miss on Friday at 7:30 in Nashville, Tenn., after earning a first-round bye in the SEC tournament.
Following the conference tournament, the PMAC will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament, regardless of whether the Lady Tigers attend.
Senior forward Courtney Jones said despite a likely NCAA tournament berth, LSU can’t be content with its current team resume.
“We don’t want to be sure about having an automatic bid because we’re not guaranteed anything,” Jones said. “We have to go in ready to compete and ready to win and just play like we don’t have a bid or a seed.”
Senior forward LaSondra Barrett said the team will still be fighting for wins in the SEC tournament, not only for a chance to win a conference title but also to improve the outlook of a potential run in the NCAA tournament.
“We definitely want to win games in the SEC tournament because it will probably help our seeding in the NCAA tournament,” Barrett said. “And just to know that all we need is three games in a row to become SEC champs — we’re capable of it.”
LSU coach Nikki Caldwell said the plan is to keep playing as long as possible.
“I told this team, we’re not leaving anything to chance,” Caldwell said. “We definitely need to make a push.”
Jones said the memory of falling short of the NCAA tournament last season yields inspiration to keep the intensity going through the postseason.
“We were all devastated [last season],” Jones said. “We let the fans down, we let the alumni down, we let ourselves and our coaching staff down.”
Jones said this season provides the Lady Tigers a chance to get back to the tradition of LSU women’s basketball.
“We’re about winning and competing and dominating NCAA basketball — period,” Jones said. “We have to go back to that feeling and just push and work harder.”
Barrett said progressing in postseason play will be about channeling what promoted the team’s success throughout the season.
“In our wins and our losses, you see the difference in our effort and intensity and how we come to play,” Barrett said. “That’s the key.”
 
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