The LSU women’s basketball team’s Southeastern Conference skid continued Thursday night at the hands of visiting Florida, as the Lady Tigers fell, 73-64.
LSU (14-8, 4-5 SEC) dropped its fifth-straight SEC game and has now lost five of the last six overall. Florida and LSU are now tied for seventh in the SEC standings with seven games remaining.
LSU coach Nikki Caldwell said she emphasized three things to the team before facing Florida — to have confidence in each other, to be mentally tougher and to max out.
“Those three things, we did not do tonight,” Caldwell said.
The Gators (14-8, 4-5 SEC) shot 50 percent from the field and led by as many as 14 at the 17:16 mark of the second half. LSU cut the lead to six several times in the second half but couldn’t keep the Gators from lighting up the scoreboard.
Caldwell said LSU missed several defensive assignments and turned over the ball too many times, conceding 26 points off of 22 turnovers.
“Transition points, offensive rebounds, it’s becoming a staple for this group,” Caldwell said. “I don’t know if we don’t believe in it or we’re not buying into it, but you can’t continue down this path.”
Senior forward Courtney Jones agreed that the Lady Tigers made too many mistakes, especially on the defensive end.
“Playing a team like Florida, you can’t have an off night,” Jones said. “Your defense has to be on point, and everybody has to be in sync.”
LSU shot 38.6 percent and never led in the contest after getting off to a slow offensive start. Turnovers and defensive rebounds held the Lady Tigers to just one basket on only four attempts over the game’s first five minutes.
Florida senior guard Lanita Bartley was one of three Gators with a team-high 12 points, and she also corralled seven rebounds.
Florida coach Amanda Butler said Bartley, generously listed at 5-foot-6, takes pride in overachieving at rebounding, especially considering her diminutive stature.
“When you’re 5-foot-5 — and that might be stretching it a bit — in this league, you’ve got to play with a little bit of a chip on your shoulder if you’re going to be good at it,” Butler said.
Caldwell said LSU didn’t show enough toughness, and she wants her players to play harder.
“You can’t control a lot of things, but you can control how hard you play,” Caldwell said. “From a mental standpoint, we didn’t step up to that challenge.”
Junior guard Adrienne Webb provided a spark on offense for the Lady Tigers, scoring a season-high 19 points to lead all scorers.
“Even though every time we scored, they scored, we still kept a positive attitude,” Webb said. “You still have to stay positive.”
The Lady Tigers will have a chance to right the ship Sunday when they host Kentucky at 3 p.m. in the PMAC.
The Wildcats have an overall record of 21-2 and are undefeated in SEC play.
Despite the obvious challenge of facing a Kentucky squad on a 10-game winning streak, Caldwell said the Lady Tigers’ biggest challenge is themselves.
“We’ve got to overcome our inability right now to put together 40 great minutes of basketball,” Caldwell said. “Nobody is going to lie down and let us come and get a victory. We’ve got to take it and we’ve got to earn it.”
 
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