Toward the end of Wednesday’s practice, the women’s basketball team could not decide how many points to go for in their three-minute layup drill. After arguing among themselves, Temeka Johnson finally decided on 80 and minutes later, the Tigers easily made their goal and Gunter shouted a message to the team.
“Don’t ever sell yourselves short,” she said as practice ended.
The No. 5 Lady Tigers (17-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) followed Gunter’s advice against Vanderbilt and it looks to win its 15th straight home game Sunday at 2 p.m. when No. 18 Georgia (14-4, 5-0) comes to town.
LSU has not beat the Bulldogs in Baton Rouge since 1989, and Tiger head coach Sue Gunter knows a win will not come easy.
“They probably right now are playing the best of any team in the conference,” Gunter said. “They’ve got good speed on the perimeter.”
Georgia’s Kara Braxton and Christi Thomas lead a strong inside game that will try to out muscle LSU on the post, where the Tigers are short their best player, DeTrina White. The pair rank in the top 10 in the conference in scoring and rebounding, and both are tied for the lead with 2.24 blocked shots per game.
Without White, Georgia might have the edge on the blocks, but Gunter is optimistic LSU can capitalize on its strong bench and veteran players.
“One of the things we have that we’re going to have to draw on and utilize is our experience,” Gunter said. “I’m not sure our depth is any better, but our depth may be more experienced than theirs.”
Not having White in the lineup has been a tough adjustment for the team, but Gunter said the players responded exactly as the coaches asked them to.
Aiysha Smith said other players besides her must bring intensity and drive to the floor in White’s absence.
“It’s a team effort, it’s not just me,” Smith said. “She was a big rebounder and had a lot of intensity for the team.”
The Tigers may need to boost their defensive intensity against the Bulldogs, who lead the conference in rebounding and blocked shots. Smith, who had eight points in White’s first game out, thinks the intensity will be higher against Georgia.
“We can’t let [Georgia] get up on us like we did early,” Smith said. “We have to come out from the beginning with a lot of intensity and get a lead.”
Crystal White likely will get more playing time helping Smith guard Braxton or Thomas, but she is up to the challenge, having played against Braxton and her sister in Amateur Athletic Union ball.
“It will be a great test for us,” White said. “Vanderbilt was a great heads-up for us with the aggressive play of Chantelle [Anderson] on the inside.”
In the Vanderbilt game, White scored four points in five minutes. She is confident she will get better as her minutes increase.
“I think the more I play, the more confidence I’ll have in myself as well as the performance in my game,” White said.