When many head to bed, LSU women’s basketball will start its journey to the Final Four.
The No. 3 seeded Tigers will tip off at 9:15 p.m. C.T. against No. 14 San Diego State, who won the Mountain West Conference Championship in three overtimes over Wyoming.
San Diego State comes into the matchup with a 25-9 overall record and an 11-7 conference record, which is fourth in its conference.
The Aztecs scored 60 points or less in six of their nine losses, meaning their struggles ultimately boil down to scoring in those cases. Even in games they’ve won, they rarely light up the scoreboard.
Veronica Sheffey leads San Diego State with 11.4 points per game. She and Naomi Panganiban are the Aztecs’ only two players averaging double figures in scoring.
Sheffey scored in double figures in four of San Diego State’s final five games, including a 24-point performance in the conference championship. She added six rebounds, five assists and two steals for a stellar performance.
She shot 7-of-23 (30.4%) in that game, meaning she’ll likely be the workhorse of the Aztec offense. Panganiban scored another 17 points for San Diego State on 7-of-14 (50%) shooting.
With Sheffey standing at 5-foot-9 and Panganiban at 5-foot-7, the Aztecs’ two offensive leaders will attack the mid-range but also look to their two post leaders.
“We’re just going to have to know our scout but play our team defense,” Flau’jae Johnson said.
Still, however, San Diego State finds itself still somewhat undersized in the paint.
Cali Clark brings a height disadvantage compared to Aneesah Morrow, as Clark stands at 6-foot-3. She finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds in the conference title game.
Outside of Clark, Adryana Quezada stands at 5-foot-10, and Kim Villalobos stands at 6-foot. Clark leads the Aztecs with 8.5 rebounds per game, Villalobos comes in second with 5.5, and Quezada averages 5.3.
Given that the height matchups work primarily in Morrow’s favor, much of the emphasis will be on her aggressiveness on both sides of the ball.
San Diego State’s scoring doesn’t often come in huge quantities outside of the paint. The Aztecs rank last in the Mountain West in attempted 3-pointers per game at 15.7, and it’s inconsistent when it looks to shoot from downtown.
In the Mountain West Championship game, San Diego State shot 18.2% from behind the arc, making just two of its 11 attempted 3-pointers. Against New Mexico in the conference quarterfinals, the Aztecs shot 28.6% on 2-of-7 3-point shooting.
Against UNLV, San Diego State shot 8-of-16 (50%) from 3-point range. Jazlen Green made three of those eight 3-pointers from off the bench.
With that being said, the Aztecs play a small game but are open to extending beyond the arc if the shots present themselves. Especially with Morrow and Sa’Myah Smith presenting a threat in the paint, it wouldn’t be a surprise if San Diego State attempts more 3-pointers than it has in the past.
Along with looking at the Aztecs, LSU’s preparation for San Diego State has been looking itself in the mirror and figuring out how they can improve as a team to put their best product on the floor.
“All week, we’ve been focusing on how to put our offense together, defensive transition, half-court transition, half-court defense as well,” Morrow said. “I feel like that’s something we really brought along this week.”
Johnson and Morrow will be healthy; Johnson dealt with shin splints, while Morrow reinjured her foot against Texas in the SEC Tournament.
They’ve both been practicing leading up to LSU’s first-round matchup with the Aztecs and are ready for battle.
“I’m ready to play. I haven’t played in almost a month,” Johnson said. “I’ve been practicing, getting back in the flow.”
With most preparation, looking within themselves, and having everyone healthy, Mulkey and her team feel they’ll be ready if everything within themselves is clicking.
However, it is March, and the NCAA Tournament has only proved anything can happen. Fortunately for the Tigers, they’ve been preparing for anything.
“In March, you don’t look over nobody,” Johnson said. “Of course, we’re trying to get out of [Baton Rouge], but we have to take care of business first game.”
