Going into the half of the LSU women’s basketball team’s Southeastern Conference game at Georgia on Jan. 24, junior guard Rina Hill had tallied eight points and drew several critical charges, drawing boos from the Lady Bulldog faithful.
But the crowd was unable to get under her skin.
“Honestly, I didn’t notice that they were booing me, in the first half, until [LSU coach Nikki Fargas] told me during the halftime,” she said with a laugh. “Then I realized they were booing me. I really didn’t care about it. It actually got me going in a sense.”
In a season plagued by injuries, it wasn’t the first time Hill had to take charge. She has been a source of consistency and leadership for the Lady Tigers (8-14, 2-7 SEC).
Hill has started all 22 games for LSU, averaging a team-leading 34.2 minutes per game. No other Lady Tiger has made more than 18 starts.
“Rina is such a special young lady,” Fargas said. “She is logging every minute of every game and she has shown that not only is she physically strong enough to do that but mentally. That takes a huge mental toughness to be able to do that”
Hill has contributed more than just a multitude of minutes for the Lady Tigers this season.
In three of LSU’s 10 away games, she led the team in points including a 10-point game at the top-ranked University of Connecticut on Dec. 21 and 14 points against Georgia.
Hill thrives in hostile situations such as the road game against the Lady Bulldogs, said senior forward Akilah Bethel. When the Georgia fans started heckling Hill, it boosted the whole team.
“It was good. We took it as a confidence booster,” Bethel said. “We like when other teams boo us. We like hostility. It fuels us rather than bring us down.”
In SEC play, Hill elevated her game against tough opponents. She averaged 6.7 points per game going into conference play, but increased her production to 7.2 points per game against conference foes.
Hill’s ability to adjust has highlighted her development as a leader from her sophomore year to her junior year.
When sophomore guard Jenna Deemer was sidelined with an illness, Hill struggled in the first few games without her, but she averaged 10.7 points in the last three.
The absence of Deemer and junior guard Raigyne Moncrief required Hill to become the go-to guard for LSU, building her confidence.
“It is definitely boosting my confidence in taking shots,” Hill said. “I know I’ve got to knock shots down and be more aggressive on the offensive end since our team is struggling to score the ball.”
For her part, Hill has put in plenty of extra hours and effort into game preparation. Her teammates and coaches agree that she is one of the hardest working players on the Lady Tigers’ roster. She is the first player to get into practice and the last one to leave, Fargas said.
Along with scoring, senior forward Anne Pederson said Hill has really stepped in to her role as a leader for the team.
“[Hill] has developed a lot from her freshman year,” Pederson said. “She was very quiet and didn’t really want to say much. She always works hard; she is one of our hardest working players, and you can always count on her and her effort. She’s more outspoken now.”