LSU’s 2008 season ended with a heartbreaking loss to a team led by the projected first pick in the WNBA draft, Candace Parker.That 48-47 loss to Tennessee came much deeper in the NCAA tournament — in the Final Four. But the Lady Tigers are hoping to avoid a similar fate tonight in their second-round matchup against No. 3 seed Louisville in the PMAC.Louisville senior forward Angel McCoughtry averages 23 points and nine rebounds per game this season and is projected by many to be the first player selected in April’s WNBA draft.LSU’s success in containing McCoughtry could determine whether the Lady Tigers advance to their seventh-straight Sweet 16.”You don’t stop great players,” said LSU coach Van Chancellor. “You just hope she doesn’t have a monster game. You’ve just got to make sure she doesn’t score 45 points and keep her at her averages.”And accomplishing that feat isn’t too far-fetched. The Cardinals’ All-American forward struggled in Louisville’s 62-42 first-round win against Liberty and scored just 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting.”I don’t worry about scoring,” McCoughty said. “I think we showed [Sunday] we can play as a team.”LSU forward Kristen Morris, who scored 13 points and 16 rebounds in LSU’s 69-59 first-round win against Wisconsin-Green Bay, said the Lady Tigers will have to bring their best defensive effort to contain McCoughtry, despite her slow start to the tournament.”We’re going to have to play great team defense,” she said. “I don’t think any one player can stop her.”Louisville overcame McCoughtry’s rough shooting night and forced 27 turnovers against Liberty.The Cardinals play a full-court pressure defense for the majority of their games and force 22 turnovers per game.Chancellor said the way LSU’s inexperienced point guards handle the Louisville pressure will go a long way in deciding the outcome of the game.”That’s our No. 1 concern,” Chancellor said. “We’ve got to limit our number of turnovers.”The Cardinals are 2-0 against Southeastern Conference competition on the season and defeated Alabama and Kentucky early in the season.But those victories came before Christmas. Since then, Louisville has endured a rigourous Big East Conference schedule, and LSU has overcome its freshman-heavy roster and used a late-season surge to once again play deep into March.”Reaching the Final 32 with this team is almost like going to the Final Four,” Chancellor said. “At one point this season, we thought we’d be out playing golf today if you want the truth.”LSU rode its two most experienced players, Morris and junior guard Allison Hightower, in its 69-59 opening round win against Wisconsin-Green Bay.Hightower led the Lady Tigers’ offense and scored 20 of her career-high 26 points in the first half.She missed portions of the second half with cramps — an issue she said she’s working to stop from happening again against Louisville.”I’m starting early already with a lot of drinking and getting a lot of food in me,” she said. “And just trying to prevent it from happening [tonight.]”—-Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]