Approximately seven months ago, the LSU women’s basketball team was one win away from reaching the national championship after falling to Baylor 68-57, marking the second straight year the Tigers lost in the Final Four.
The No. 3 Tigers will begin their attempt at a third Final Four against No. 13 Texas Tech on Sunday in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic. The game begins at 2:30 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena and will be aired on ESPN2.
“It’s a new team and a new year,” senior guard Scholanda Hoston said. “We don’t even talk about [last year].”
The Lady Tigers are coming off a 107-50 win in their final exhibition game of the season against Henderson State.
“In the first exhibition, I was pleased with their ability to pick up with what the opposition was doing,” Coach Pokey Chatman said. “In the second game, I loved their energy level.”
While the team may be energetic from beginning the season against a ranked opponent, Chatman said the energy must continue past the preseason.
“At this time of year, it’s easy to be excited and energetic,” Chatman said. “But we’ll need some of that energy to carry over from the last game when we head to Lubbock.”
Sunday’s game is also Texas Tech’s season opener. The Lady Red Raiders are coming off a 66-63 loss to Everybody’s Internet.
Tech is led by senior point guard Erin Grant, who comes into the season as Texas Tech’s career assists leader with 661. Grant averaged 8.2 points and more than seven assists last season.
“We want to make sure we put pressure on the ball,” said senior Seimone Augustus. “We understand they have a great point guard in Erin Grant, and she’ll expose us if we have any breakdowns on defense.”
Chatman, who coached Grant on the USA Basketball team last summer at the World University Games, said the point guard thrives on serving as one of the team’s leaders.
“I don’t think she turned the ball over all summer,” Chatman said. “She runs her team, and she has a great cast of characters to get it done.”
LSU will feature one new face on its starting roster with sophomore guard Khalilah Mitchell starting at the point, replacing Temeka Johnson. The start is Mitchell’s first in her career.
Joining Mitchell are familiar faces in Augustus and Hoston, along with senior Florence Williams and sophomore Sylvia Fowles.
“We’ve worked on our chemistry,” Hoston said. “We have a totally different team. We only brought in one more person, but it will be like a whole new team out there.”