LSU’s women’s basketball team hasn’t lost to Tulane since 1999.But sophomore guard Latear Eason doesn’t expect the Green Wave to roll into Baton Rouge tonight and lay down for the Lady Tigers.”They want to beat us,” Eason said. “This is their biggest game of the year.”The Lady Tigers host the Green Wave at 7 p.m. in the first of four contests in eight days.Tulane (1-1) enters tonight’s matchup after falling 65-49 to Virginia Commonwealth on Friday in the third round consolation of the preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament.Senior guard Ashley Langford leads the Green Wave with 5.3 assists per contest, and sophomore forward Brittney Lindsey leads the team in scoring with 11.3 points per game.LSU coach Van Chancellor said tonight’s game and upcoming games against No. 23 Xavier and Middle Tennessee will test his team’s preparation and execution.”But we need tests,” Chancellor said. “Now let’s go out and do something about it.”LSU (0-1) hasn’t played since its season opening, 62-53 loss to No. 15 Notre Dame on Nov. 16.But Eason laughed at the idea that the week between games was actually a week off.The Lady Tigers have used the seven-day hiatus to work on rebounding, communicating better and being more patient, she said.”It gave us more time to execute the things we needed to work on,” Eason said. “We’re going to have to play 110 percent better against [Tulane].”Junior guard Allison Hightower said the Lady Tigers didn’t play as hard as they thought in the season opener, saying that effort will have to improve against Tulane.”Every time we play them, they give us their best,” Hightower said. “We’ve been practicing very hard [this week], and it’s going to show on the court.”Hightower shot just 3-of-12 against the Irish, and Chancellor said he thought she pressed too much on offense.”I put a lot of pressure on myself to help this team,” Hightower said. “I’ve been relaxing more this week. I realize my teammates can score in many different ways.”Hightower said she expects to play better against Tulane regardless of her shooting percentage.”Sometimes when my shot’s not hitting, I feel like it’s my fault,” Hightower said. “It’s not, but I’m pretty hard on myself.”Hightower said the coaches have worked to funnel down the offense to help it run more smoothly against the Green Wave.”They’re definitely trying to make it a little easier on us,” Hightower said. “I think right now everybody’s just thinking too much about running plays instead of just playing basketball.”Chancellor shrugged off the idea LSU’s offensive struggles stem from its youth and inexperience.”I don’t believe in that,” Chancellor said. “We’ve got talent, and we’re going to get it out of them.”
—-Contact David Harvey at [email protected]