LSU women’s basketball coach Van Chancellor had his players do something rather unusual to motivate them before LSU’s game against Ole Miss on Thursday night.
They rowed in a boat on the floor.
The message was simple, Chancellor said. Play as a team, even in the most dire circumstances.
“I cut the lights out and put them in a boat like they were lost in the Gulf of Mexico, and they had to row and be together,” Chancellor said. “They had to get to land and get safe and be together. … I was doing anything for us to pull together and play together.”
The strategy clearly paid off Thursday in the PMAC, as the Lady Tigers (13-7, 3-3) blasted Ole Miss (8-9, 1-4) in a 78-43 victory. It was the largest margin of victory ever for the Lady Tigers against Ole Miss in the PMAC.
Ole Miss had its eyes on beating LSU for a record third-straight time, but LSU’s team effort offensively and defensively ensured that would not happen.
Guard Jeanne Kenney tied her own freshman record with five 3-pointers, and junior forward LaSondra Barrett erupted for 17 points in the second half.
She notched 19 total points in the contest.
The Lady Tigers led by seven points at halftime, 29-22, and Barrett had only two points on free throws. But the effective shooting performances of Kenney (15 points) and sophomore guard Adrienne Webb (17 points) gave Barrett time to get in a groove offensively.
“In the first half I was just trying to read Ole Miss and just try to let the game come to me,” Barrett said. “When you have Jeanne Kenney and Adrienne Webb shooting the ball like they were, there was no point for me to try to get out. In the second half, I was more aggressive.”
LSU went on runs of 20-2 and 27-4 in the second half, and Ole Miss attempted only one free throw, which was missed by Rebels forward Pa’Sonna Hope. LSU committed just four fouls, and they shot 16-of-19 from the line themselves, with Barrett leading the way at 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.
“We’ve been telling our team that you just can’t win unless you quit fouling,” Chancellor said. “I’ve probably coached in 2,000 games, and I don’t believe I’ve seen where we’ve only committed four fouls.”
Ole Miss coach Renee Ladner, who played at Ole Miss in the early 1980s under Chancellor, said LSU simply exploited all the Rebels’ weaknesses.
“Our effort was very poor in the second half,” Ladner said. “They played a sagging man defense tonight, and we prepared for it all week, but we really let it affect us tonight.”
 
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