If history has any influence on LSU’s game Saturday against No. 4 seed DePaul, then the team can plan on advancing to the Elite Eight for the fourth time in as many seasons.
The Lady Tigers have defeated opponents in the first three rounds by an average of 21.5 points during that four-year span, including this year’s NCAA Tournament games.
And LSU’s last single-digit victory in the first three rounds occurred in 2003 against Lousiana Tech in the Sweet 16.
But the No. 1 seed Lady Tigers are not relying on the past to determine the outcome of Saturday’s Sweet 16 game at 11 a.m. at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
LSU coach Pokey Chatman said she is pleased her team has won by large margins in past games but is not happy with her team’s overall play lately.
“It’s how we went about [winning] that was not good,” Chatman said. “You can’t go back and say ‘Well, we won by 23.'”
The Lady Tigers let No. 16 seed Florida Atlantic hang around for the first 10 minutes of the game and allowed No. 9 seed Washington stay in the game for about five minutes the second half.
“The sense of urgency to me is March, period,” Chatman said. “You get down to 16 teams, throw them into a hat and pick one.”
Chatman said she knows DePaul’s potent offense, ranked 12th in the nation, will test LSU and run the entire game.
“I think a lot of their offense; it’s good all over, but they’re going to get some really good looks in transition,” Chatman said. “They put a lot of pressure on you, and they’re always in attack mode.”
The Lady Blue Demons’ offense is led by forward Khara Smith, who Chatman called “a double-double queen.”
Smith is averaging a double-double, scoring 17.9 points and pulling down 11.1 rebounds per contest.
“When she’s getting those double-doubles the key for us is making sure that doesn’t come about with her shooting eight, 10, 12 free throws,” Chatman said.
Sophomore center Sylvia Fowles will handle most of the defense against Smith and said she is well aware of Smith’s production.
“She gets her team rolling and she’s very aggressive,” Fowles said. “[I can’t] do anything silly just because of who she is and what she can put up.”
In addition to the problems Smith creates, Chatman said she expects DePaul to send several players to try to frustrate Fowles and get her into early foul trouble.
“I think that’s something you do without even talking about it,” Chatman said. “The key is, in terms of Sylvia, playing defense before they get the basketball.”
Fowles has only fouled out once in her career but played just 21 minutes in the second-round game against Washington on Monday because she picked up two fouls in the first two minutes of the game.
“What is key is when she’s picked up early fouls, she’s come back in the game and she’s learned how to play with those fouls,” Chatman said.
 
Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]