The No. 2 LSU women’s basketball team will look to build upon its three-game winning streak tonight when the Lady Razorbacks of Arkansas come to town for their Southeastern Conference match-up.
LSU (16-1, 3-0 SEC) is coming off a 76-51 victory over Alabama last Sunday.
“We had a lot of defensive breakdowns,” coach Pokey Chatman said. “We’re just looking to clean some things up.”
Despite holding the Crimson Tide to 29.4 percent shooting, Chatman said she would like to see a stronger defensive effort against Arkansas.
“If we’re not locked in mentally, we won’t get anything done,” Chatman said. “We just need to lock in and be more disciplined in our defensive attack.”
Arkansas (11-5, 1-4 SEC) is coming off a win against Mississippi State on Sunday, breaking a three-game losing streak.
A strong defensive effort pulled the Lady Tigers past the University of Florida last Thursday to earn a 64-47 win.
Led by junior Seimone Augustus, who led the team with 18 points, LSU held the Lady Gators to just 28.6 percent shooting in the win.
The win also featured a couple of milestones for the Lady Tigers as senior Temeka Johnson, who had nine assists, moved into sole possession of sixth-place in career starts at LSU.
Augustus also became the 10th player in LSU history to reach 1,500 points.
The Lady Razorbacks bring a strong defensive set, ranking No. 1 in steals and No. 2 in turnover margin in the SEC.
Chatman said the game will come down to which team is able to play to its strengths.
“It falls in line with how we like to play,” Chatman said. “We’ve done a good job of taking care of the ball over the years. They’re doing a good job of forcing turnovers. So it’ll be a matter of both teams playing to their strengths and seeing where the chips fall.”
Arkansas is led by junior Rochelle Vaughn, averaging 10.2 points and 4.9 rebounds a contest.
A strong defensive effort was also the theme for the Lady Tigers last Sunday as LSU held Alabama to 29.4 percent shooting in the 76-51 victory.
Augustus put up 19 points while freshman Quianna Chaney added 11 points and two steals.
Augustus’ 19 points also marked the 43rd straight time for her to score double digits.
Despite the strong defensive effort against Alabama Temeka Johnson said it still can improve.
“We had a pretty good game against Alabama,” Johnson said. “But our defense wasn’t as top-notch as it could be. Our defense is something we’re looking to get better at.”
For Augustus, maintaining good ball control will be the key if the Tigers are going to get the win.
“It’s just a matter of taking care of the ball,” Augustus said. “But to also make sure to run our offense and put them in some situations.”
Augustus, who leads the team with 20.2 points per game, also said the team will have to pick up on the intensity in order to get the victory.
“We need more intensity and energy,” Augustus said. “But the main thing is to come out focused and feed off fans and then we’ll see what happens.”