With only a week remaining before the regular season opener, the LSU Lady Tigers get their last chance to tune up when they host the Houston Jaguars tonight at 7 p.m. in the PMAC.
The third-ranked Lady Tigers will play their second and last preseason game prior to traveling to Tucson to face the Arizona Wildcats next Friday.
“We will do pretty much what we did in the first game,” said head coach Sue Gunter. “It’s an exhibition game, so we will be trying different things and let the kids get their game legs.”
The Tigers are coming off a 113-60 victory over the Basketball Travelers last Friday. In that game, LSU fans got their first look at heralded freshman Seimone Augustus. She led LSU with 18 points, while senior Aiysha Smith pumped in 15 points to go along with seven rebounds.
Four other Tigers hit double figures including the twins. Doneeka and Roneeka Hodges tossed in 14 and 10 points respectively. Senior Ke-Ke Tardy added 13 points and Wendlyn Jones finished with 12 points.
Friday’s game also marked the return of senior DeTrina White. White, playing her first game after missing the entire 2001-2002 season with a foot injury, scored seven points in 17 minutes of action.
Twelve players hit the floor in the first game and Gunter said everyone will get minutes tonight.
The Jaguars, comprised of former college basketball players and members of the WNBA, have lost all nine of its games heading into tonight’s match up.
Although the Tigers romped in its first contest, Gunter said that the team still has some areas to work on.
“The timing is not there on the offensive end of the floor and we are still a little bit late doing things we need to do on the defensive end,” Gunter said.
Gunter also said it may take until January to stabilize the top nine or ten players in the rotation.
“The kids will begin to separate themselves as far as their roles are concerned,” Gunter said. “We will look at that tomorrow night and we will continue to look at that in the early part of the non-conference schedule.”