The LSU women’s basketball team suffered multiple losses this season due to injured players, but the Lady Tigers welcomed two of their own back on Feb. 18.
One of those players was sophomore guard Jenna Deemer. She and senior forward Ann Jones played in their first game after missing 16 games combined. Deemer missed a total of nine games due to an illness, and Jones missed seven due to an ankle injury.
Junior forward Alexis Hyder said the additional members made playing easier and allowed them to take “breathers.”
“When we’re playing with six or seven [people], Coach [Fargas] has to be really strategic about her timeouts,” Hyder said. “We have to be really strategic about our fouls. So having those two subs … It changes the whole dynamic of the game. You can’t sag on me and [senior forward] Akilah [Bethel] because you have a shooter there.”
Despite the the Lady Tigers’ efforts and the return of Deemer and Jones to the rotation, the team lost the game against Texas A&M 68-54 to complete a six-game losing streak.
But the loss still served as a way to welcome Deemer back to the court.
During the game, Deemer made her first shot attempt from the three-point line with 4:23 left in the first quarter. Early in the fourth, she made a basket from the field to bring the Tigers within three, 48-45.
Deemer had nine points and two steals at the end of the game, and Jones finished with two points from free throw attempts and one rebound.
“It’s great to get the able bodies back on the roster,” Fargas said. “At the beginning of SEC play, we lost [Jenna] Deemer and Ann Jones. They were just cleared to play this week so you definitely can’t go back in time, but what would our season have looked like in [Southeastern Conference] play had those two been with us the whole time?”
The Lady Tigers then faced No. 24 Tennessee on Sunday, hoping a larger rotation of players might help, and it did. LSU celebrated a victory over the Lady Vols, 57-56. This was the first game won at home against Tennessee since Feb. 26, 2009.
Jones contributed four rebounds to LSU’s defense and four total points. Deemer scored nine points, all three-point shots. Two of those back-to-back baskets sent the Lady Tigers into a two-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter, 39-37.
The first three from Deemer was made with only 1:06 left in the third period to take a one-point lead over the Lady Vols. She turned around and made another shot from the arc with 50 seconds left in the quarter to keep the lead.
The Lady Tigers are still without some players and the influence is seen in the last six games LSU has played, but losing won’t break the team’s spirits.
“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs as far as not winning in games, but I think in the locker room, the overall feel for these young ladies, they really do have a genuine care for each other,” LSU coach Nikki Fargas said. “I’m just very, very proud to be their coach here at LSU. We’ve got a lot more basketball in us and a lot more ‘Ws’ to go after.”
The Lady Tigers have two games left before the regular season wraps up and the SEC Championships begin. The team will look to finish the season strongly with the help of Deemer and Jones.
Bethel said LSU hasn’t given up hope yet.
“It has been about playing until the time is up,” Bethel said. “The time isn’t up, so we’re not going to stop. We’re going to keep continuing to fight. We’re still trying to win the SEC. We’re going to do what we want to. We don’t want our season to end.”
You can reach Jourdan Riley on Twitter @jourdanr_TDR