Senior forward Ke-Ke Tardy found herself in an unfamiliar position when the 2002-03 season commenced.
Despite starting 45 of LSU’s 58 games in the past two seasons, Tardy found herself coming off the bench.
Head coach Sue Gunter decided Tardy would be better served being one of the first to enter the game off the bench. Tardy said she understood the situation, citing the talent that pointed the Lady Tigers right to a No. 1 seed in the West region.
“I guess it was awkward,” Tardy said. “It was a little disappointing. I just rolled with the punches and just had faith that it was going to work out for me again.”
Tardy would soon be back in the starting five. The injury to senior forward DeTrina White against Arkansas in January opened the door for Tardy to be a starter again. She has started 15 of the team’s 30 games thus far.
Tardy responded, putting up 8.3 points per game in Southeastern Conference games. She also averaged nearly three rebounds a game in the SEC, arguably the toughest conference in the country.
“Everybody knows that DeTrina can’t be replaced,” Tardy said. “I just tried to come in, compensate and add to the team what I bring.”
Gunter said she thinks Tardy is a team player.
“That sort of exemplifies what is behind the success of this team,” Gunter said. “She’s started, and she’s not started. She’s had an outstanding senior year. Her unselfishness and the way she’s handled things, it has a great deal to do with the success of the team this year.”
Point guard Temeka Johnson said Tardy has the right team concept.
“Ke-Ke Tardy is someone that is hard to describe,” Johnson said. “She’s self-centered, but at the same time she loves to do anything that is going to help the team. Ke-Ke loves herself, and we all love Ke-Ke. Whatever she can do to help the team, that’s what she’s going to do and that’s what we love the most about her.”
Tardy, a graduate of Murrah High School in Jackson, Miss., seems to always perform well against teams in her home state. Her second-highest scoring game of her career came against Mississippi State on Jan. 28, 2001, when she poured in 20.
This season it was more of the same. Tardy put in her season-high 19 at Ole Miss. She also scored 15 at State in early February.
“I tend to play well in front of my home state,” Tardy said. “I knew that [the State game] was a pivotal game, and you have to win road games if you want to be the best in this league. I tried not to get involved in the hype. I just tried to come out and play my game, and my teammates found me when I was open.”
If Lady Tigers’ opponents concentrate on forward Aiysha Smith and freshman sensation Seimone Augustus too much, Tardy can give defenses problems.
“I would classify my game as someone who does a little bit of everything,” Tardy said. “I have a pretty good mid-range shot and that opens up my drive a lot of times. You have to close out on me hard or else I’ll shoot the jumpshot. I also can bang inside; I have pretty good post moves.”