The LSU women’s basketball team’s game Sunday against Georgia was typical of a Southeastern Conference contest — it was a physical, defensive struggle.
While LSU limited then-No. 20 Georgia to 41 points, tied for its lowest total in an SEC game in school history, dominating the offensive boards proved critical in the Lady Tigers’ victory. Their 18 offensive boards were a definite anomaly from where the Lady Tigers stand in that category this season.
LSU is No. 11 in the SEC in offensive rebounds with 13.2 per game, only better than Arkansas, which averages 12.8. Those teams also round out the conference in offensive rebounding percent with 35.1 percent and 34.3 percent, respectively.
In the loss to the Razorbacks, LSU was out rebounded offensively, 13-10, and 46-37 overall.
But the Georgia game was a different story, as second-chance points were the difference. The 18 offensive rebounds were the second-highest total for the Lady Tigers this season.
“If we don’t get the offensive boards, we don’t win today,” LSU coach Van Chancellor said after the Georgia game. “Late in the game [junior forwards] LaSondra Barrett and Courtney Jones got some unbelievable offensive boards.”
LSU is the only SEC team whose average total of offensive rebounds is less than half of its defensive rebounds (27 per game). That ranks No. 2 in the conference, and the Lady Tigers are No. 1 in defensive rebounding percentage at 71 percent.
Barrett said the discrepancy in offensive and defensive rebounding can be attributed to the way the team runs its offense.
“The way our offense is set up, a lot of post players are high and low, but with our defensive effort we swarm teams,” Barrett said. “We hedge on ball screens; we’re all over the place. In defensive rebounding, we send all five to the boards, whereas with offensive rebounding, the four and five [players] go, and the one, two and three get back on defense.”
Barrett led the team Sunday with five of her career-high-tying 12 rebounds coming offensively. Barrett is No. 12 in the SEC with 6.1 rebounds per game, and fellow junior forward Taylor Turnbow is No. 11 with 6.2.
Turnbow, who leads the Lady Tigers in offensive rebounds with 54 and total rebounds with 142, said limiting opponents’ possessions by controlling the offensive boards comes down to playing smart and disciplined.
“On the boards we have to be warriors in the game on both ends,” Turnbow said. “In practice [associate head coach Bob Starkey] always emphasizes going to the glass.”
Barrett said the Lady Tigers’ speed gives them a spark when it comes to offensive rebounding in the SEC season. LSU travels to Vanderbilt on Thursday.
“We’re not matched up size-wise with a lot of teams in the SEC, but we have speed over them,” Barrett said. “We can use our mobility to move around them and get position to get those boards. That’s one thing we pride ourselves on.”
 
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