The LSU women’s basketball team entered the season with high expectations after Nikki Caldwell, former UCLA coach and Pac-10 Coach of the Year, agreed to coach the team in April.
Six games into the young season, Caldwell and her Lady Tigers haven’t yet lived up to the hype, starting the season 3-3.
Although the team does have a signature win against No. 14 Georgetown, 51-40, the Lady Tigers have dropped out of the top 25 following its most recent loss Nov. 27 to No. 18 Ohio State, 77-68, after starting the season ranked No. 21.
“I don’t want their confidence to be shattered,” Caldwell said after the Ohio State game. “I want them to understand that we’re going to have losses. It’s part of any sport. But the question is, ‘Are you going to turn this around?'”
The other losses came to Tulane and Northwestern, which are now both 5-1. The competition may have been stiff to start the season, but that doesn’t excuse the Lady Tigers’ 122 turnovers so far, which is an average 20.3 per game.
“Turnovers come from mental fatigue,” Caldwell said. “They come from different players at different points in the game and not being focused and in-tune. Sometimes you turn the ball over when you’re trying to force the action as opposed to let the game come to letdown.”
If the Lady Tigers eventually reach the NCAA Tournament, March Madness will coincide with the due date of Caldwell’s expected first child.
“Hopefully we’re still playing games in March that matter a lot and we’ll see what happens when March rolls around,” said sports information director and associate athletic director Michael Bonnette. “Everybody is excited for her, I can tell you