Beware Lady Tigers.
   That is the message head coach Sue Gunter is trying to convey to her team as the No. 24 Lady Tigers venture to Lexington, Ky., to take on the Southeastern Conference’s last place team in the University of Kentucky (8-10 ,1-5) tonight.
Do not allow overall and conference records to be taken into full account. Gunter is preaching that Kentucky is a much better team when playing in the friendly confines of the Bluegrass state.
Gunter said the game on the road against Kentucky, a team who is 3-3 at home, is a game that causes her a great deal of concern. Kentucky’s only conference win was against lowly Alabama.
“Those kind of games always scare me,” Gunter said. “Let me just say this: Kentucky is a very different team at home than they are on the road. They have not been a good road team, but they have played teams very close on their floor.”
LSU point guard Temeka Johnson echoed Gunter’s concerns. She said there is always a worry about going into an opponent’s gym against a team with nothing to lose.
“We are always concerned about road games,” Johnson said. “You can’t underestimate anybody, you can’t disrespect people. We’re always going to be worried about the little things because sometimes we have the potential to play to their potential, and it messes up our whole game,” she said.
Regardless of the record, Gunter believes the Lady Wildcats match up well with the Lady Tigers.
The challenge comes in the form of a 6-4 sophomore center, Selia Helm. Helm is averaging 17.4 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game for the Wildcats. LSU center Aiysha Smith is coming off her best performance of the year, however.
Smith, a 6-2 junior center, recorded 18 points and 17 boards in the Lady Tigers’ 10 point victory over Arkansas Sunday.
“That’s our post player,” Johnson said of Smith. “That’s what she’s here for. She’s here to score. Eighteen points and 17 boards, it doesn’t get much better than that.”
Johnson herself is on a tear. After being out for the first semester because she was academically ineligible, Johnson has been a major contributor.
In just 10 games, Johnson has averaged nearly nine points and eight assists per game. She also set a single game school record for assists with 15 in a 88-57 rout of Ole Miss.
“She poses a lot of problems for a lot of different teams,” Gunter said. “If you go to a zone, she’s going to penetrate on you, and she’s going to dish it off. Man on man, she’ll beat you off the dribble.”
Johnson said her good play is a result of believing in what she can do. She said she just goes out with the mentality of taking what the defense gives her.
“I’m just going out there and doing what I can do,” Johnson said. “If they give me the drive, then I’ll take it. If they give me the jumper, [I’ll take it]. I have to just read the defense.”
Gunter said Johnson will get even better when the other players fully adjust to her style. Her ability to penetrate Arkansas’ defense and get to the foul line helped the Tigers stave off a Lady ’Back comeback.
“I think more and more, our players are finding a comfort zone with her,” Gunter said. “She’s the kind of kid that’s going to handle the ball 80 percent of the time. But right now she’s learning every game. She gets a little bit better and a little smarter. That’s what we’re looking for.”
Johnson will be facing off against Kentucky point guard Rita Adams. Adams leads the SEC in steals and is third in assists.
Gunter said Helms and Adams will make this a tough contest for the Tigers if they are even a small bit off of their game.
“They match up very well with us,” she said. “Helms is a big, strong kid. The Adams kid is as quick as Temeka. They just pose a lot of problems for us if we’re not ready to play.”
What Gunter said she is looking for is the balanced attack the Lady Tigers put up against Ole Miss when the squad scored 88 points and limited the Lady Rebels to just 57 points.
“In the Ole Miss game, we got what we needed,” Gunter said. “It was a very balanced attack. That’s what you’re looking for.”