The LSU women’s basketball team has had to make noticeable adjustments to account for the loss of sophomore guard Katherine Graham to a sprained left knee.Coach Van Chancellor said Graham’s health is steadily improving, and he is optimistic about her condition.”She’s getting better every day,” Chancellor said. “[Associate head coach Bob] Starkey said today Graham has gotten 10 times better after she got hurt. She’s going to play sometime soon. I hate to say when because it’s hard to tell. I don’t think she’ll play [tonight], but you never know about Katherine Graham.”Chancellor said it has been difficult to replace her in the starting lineup.”She’s just been an intangible player that means so much to our team,” Chancellor said. “When I think about the heart and soul of a team on the road — we wouldn’t have turned the ball over as much, and we wouldn’t have given up as many offensive rebounds.”Freshman forward Ayana Dunning said the team especially misses Graham’s rebounding skills. Graham is second on the team with 83 rebounds this season.”It’s always hard to replace a player, especially of Graham’s caliber,” Dunning said. “She brought so much to the team as a starter in her offensive and rebounding aspects.”The Lady Tigers (9-6, 2-1) had 20 turnovers in their 75-67 loss to Vanderbilt, tied for the most they’ve had in a game all season. Vanderbilt was the first game Graham was not in the lineup this season.LSU freshman forward LaSondra Barrett said not having Graham will force the players to “step out of their comfort zones” on the court.”With me and [freshman forward] Courtney Jones, we’re versatile,” she said. “We just have to expand our game instead of just playing the post and step outside and play more. It’s a tough task, but in the end, it will make us better.”Mississippi State (14-4, 2-2) has never won against LSU in Baton Rouge, but Chancellor, a Mississippi State graduate, said these are the best Lady Bulldogs he has seen in a long time.”The big difference is they’re really athletic, they’re bigger and they’re stronger,” he said. “They run well, they defend well and they shoot well.”Mississippi State sophomore guard Alexis Rack is No. 1 in the Southeastern Conference in 3-point field goals made, averaging 2.5 per game, and she averages 13.7 points per game.”[Rack] has got no fear, and I’m sure she wants to come back here to LSU and prove once again we should have signed her,” Chancellor said.Chancellor said he is very happy with the progress the team has made with four freshmen in the starting lineup. He praised their effort and ability to score every time they touch the ball.”Vanderbilt was one of those near misses,” he said. “Outside of that, our team is really playing hard and being coachable. We’re growing every day.”Chancellor particularly noted the play of Barrett and Dunning.”We’ve had some really bad luck. Dunning did not play early, and that really hurt us because she is such a force inside,” he said. “She’s just like a bull in a china shop when she gets her hand on the ball. And then [Barrett] was hurt [with a knee injury].”Barrett has scored in double figures in five consecutive games, including a career-high 27 points against Arkansas. She is the first LSU player since Sylvia Fowles to have such a streak.——Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]