NEW ORLEANS — The next shot.
It’s a philosophy that LSU guards RaShonta LeBlanc and Allison Hightower embodied when they combined for 21 points in Saturday’s 67-52 win in the Sweet 16 against Oklahoma State.
During the past week in practice, the two guards focused curing their shooting slumps after combining for just 3-of-19 shooting from the field against second-round opponent Marist on Monday.
“When you’re struggling, it’s hard,” Hightower said. “But you’ve got to keep shooting and just think that you’re going to make the next shot. All of my teammates and coaches were telling me, ‘Shoot the ball, and don’t worry about anything else.'”
LSU coach Van Chancellor said he was pleased with Hightower and LeBlanc’s transformation from Monday.
“[LeBlanc] really struggled Monday night,” Chancellor said. “She was two for the Atlanta Ocean [2-of-11] against Marist.”
It almost seemed like deja-vu for LeBlanc in the first half of Saturday’s game when she shot just 1-of-6 from the field.
“‘My teammates and coaching just kept telling me, ‘Keep shooting, and you’ll knock them down,'” LeBlanc said.
But the second half was a different story. LeBlanc drained three 3-pointers to hold off the Cowgirls’ comeback attempts.
“That’s what we’ve tried to teach our kids all year,” Chancellor said. “You may struggle in some parts of the game, but when the game gets on the line, knock down the shots. I thought [LeBlanc] and Hightower both struggled Monday night, and I thought those two kids made some big time plays today.”
Hightower shot 4-of-7 from the field against Oklahoma State – greatly improving from her 1-of-8 performance against Marist.
During the first half of Saturday’s game, senior center Sylvia Fowles went nearly 18 minutes without a field goal. Hightower said it’s important for LSU’s guards to step up and alleviate the pressure on Fowles.
“If they’re doubling up on her, and she can knock it back out to us for the shot, it’s bad for them,” she said.
—-Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]