With nine new players and a completely new starting lineup, LSU coach Van Chancellor didn’t know what to expect from the new look Lady Tigers. After a 62-53 season-opening loss to No. 14 Notre Dame, Chancellor is still searching for answers. “The people I thought were ready were not ready,” he said. “The people I did not think were ready were ready. The people I showed the most confidence in for the exhibition games didn’t play very good, and the people I had not shown much confidence in played really good.” Nine Lady Tigers scored in the game for No. 24 LSU. But LSU’s starting lineup of senior forward Kristen Morris, freshman forward LaShondra Barrett, junior guard Allison Hightower, freshman guard Destini Hughes and sophomore guard Katherine Graham was just 5-of-28 from the field with 12 of LSU’s 18 turnovers.LSU’s bench kept the team afloat and scored 35 of LSU’s 53 points.Junior guard Andrea Kelly led the Lady Tigers with 10 points and freshmen forwards Courtney Jones and Taylor Turnbow added eight points each in their season debuts.Turnbow said the Lady Tigers’ young players were not ready for the effort needed to win a game on a big stage. “We weren’t mentally prepared for this game,” she said. “We had the two exhibition games, and we did pretty well, but I don’t think mentally we were focused.”Both teams had early season jitters to start off the game.The Fighting Irish and the Lady Tigers combined for 13 turnovers in the opening nine minutes as Notre Dame opened an early 9-6 lead.The Irish used a 9-4 run to push its lead to eight midway through the first half thanks to swarming defense.The Irish used a blend of full court pressure and zone defense to keep LSU out of rhythm on offense for most of the first half and gave Notre Dame a 18-10 lead.”We did a little bit of everything,” said Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw. “The zone was good, but we mixed in enough man to keep their point guards off balance. We know they have young point guards, and we really wanted to try to break her rhythm.” LSU sophomore guard Latear Eason entered the game for freshman Destini Hughes after Hughes picked up her second foul with 13:52 to play in the opening half.Eason was able to penetrate the Irish’s zone and distribute the ball to LSU’s scorers to spark a 14-6 LSU run to tie the game at 24 at halftime.Eason finished the game with four points and two assists in 24 minutes.”You want to talk about a shock to me, that was a shock to me,” Chancellor said. “The one thing we were scared of was getting Hughes in foul trouble. But she got in early foul trouble, and we got Eason in there, and she played well.”Hightower also battled foul trouble and picked up her third foul just 16 seconds into the second half and was forced to the bench.With Hightower off the floor, Notre Dame went on a 14-4 run to take a 38-28 lead.Hightower returned to the floor with 16 minutes to play and helped spark a 12-5 LSU run to bring the Lady Tigers within three with 9:38 to play.But for the game, LSU’s junior struggled and was just 3-of-12 from the field with six points.Notre Dame junior guard Ashley Barrow took over the game after LSU’s surge and scored 14 of her game-high 19 points in the second half to will the Irish to victory.Despite all the fresh faces, McGraw said she expects to see LSU playing deep into March again this season.”They’re going to be a great team,” she said. “They’re probably going to struggle on the road a little bit because of their youth. They’re going to be a little inconsistent … but they’re so talented.”—-Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]