The LSU women’s basketball team began the season poised to build off of an NCAA Tournament appearance. Three months later, the Lady Tigers are eager to finish the season.
LSU (8-17, 2-10 Southeastern Conference) trounced Union University in their exhibition on Nov. 4, featuring an 18 point debut from freshman forward Ayana Mitchell, an ESPN top 100 recruit, and the Lady Tigers received votes in the first coaches poll.
LSU lost its opener to Wake Forest on Nov. 13, but rebounded with wins against Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 15 and the University of Arkansas-Little Rock on Nov. 18.
But then the recurring cycle of injuries started.
Since Nov. 18, six different Lady Tigers have missed games with injuries.
“It feels like we are on a roller coaster ride,” said LSU coach Nikki Fargas. “Sometimes, when we feel like we are moving forward and up, adversity hits us. This team has shown a lot of perseverance. They are fighting through injuries. Not everybody is 100 percent healthy. Not everybody is able to practice every day. It is just what it is.”
Following the matchup against the UALR, LSU lost junior guard Raigyne Moncrief, the leading returning scorer with 11.8 points per game, for the season to a knee injury.
In three games, Moncrief was LSU’s leader in points, assists and steals and was second in rebounds. Moncrief started 57 of the 62 games she played in during her freshman and sophomore campaigns.
In the following game, Mitchell suffered a season ending back injury. Mitchell was averaging more than six points and had not missed a field goal for the Lady Tigers.
All three of the Lady Tigers’ seniors have suffered injuries this season.
Senior forward guard Anne Pedersen, who has started 12 games for the Lady Tigers, missed games against Maine on Nov. 29 and Texas Southern on Dec. 1. Senior Forward Ann Jones, who started six games this season, has missed the last seven games due to an ankle injury.
Senior forward Akilah Bethel, who suffered a broken nose in practice on Jan. 31, has started the last four games with a mask obscuring her vision.
“It’s definitely harder than what I anticipated,” Bethel said. “You see a lot of NBA players with it; I don’t know if their masks are different, but you can literally only see straight ahead. Downward is blurry, and you can’t really see on the sides, so it’s hard. I’m getting through it and getting used to it so I can play with it a little better and know what I can and cannot do with it on.”
Along with Bethel’s injury, sophomore forward Tatum Neubert, who is sitting out this season on a redshirt, suffered a concussion during the same practice.
Sophomore center Alliyah Fareo, who has played in 16 games, is the only other Lady Tiger to miss a game with injury. Fareo was absent versus California-Santa Barbara on Dec. 13 with a knee injury.
Sophomore guard Jenna Deemer, the second-leading scorer for the Lady Tigers, has missed the last nine games due to sickness.
With Deemer and Jones on the bench, the Lady Tigers have adjusted to playing with just seven scholarship players.
“I think it’s OK now because we have done it,” said junior forward Alexis Hyder. “Maybe some of the earlier games, it was tough, but now we are learning each other, literally. I know [Bethel] and I have a dual going. I know how [junior guard Rina Hill] is going to come off the screen, I know [junior guard Jasmine Rhodes] is going to be spotting up. Things like that help.”
Several Lady Tigers had close calls during SEC games.
In LSU’s loss to Auburn on Feb. 1, Rhodes fell to the floor before returning to score 10 points.
“When you see any player go down, you cringe as a coach,” Fargas said after the game. “Jasmine has been very tough and she’s been very diligent in her rehab and just getting herself into position to be out there competing for our team this season. She’s a very high pain tolerance kid.”
Freshman Shanice Norton jammed her finger during LSU’s loss to Mississippi State on Feb. 4, despite managing a career-high 15 points.
Some Lady Tigers have found positives despite the tough season.
“I was not expecting to play as much, but I am grateful that I have,” Norton said. “It is not as tough as I thought it would be since we still have all our teammates behind us supporting us.”
You can reach Jarrett Major on Twitter @Jarrett_tdr

Gallery • 1 Photos

Haskell Whittington

LSU senior guard Akilah Bethel (3, left) and junior guard Jasmine Rhodes (10) play hard defense aganst the Georgia offense during the LSU 47-58 loss against Georgia on Sunday Feb. 14, 2016, in the PMAC.