LSU will try to improve its résumé for a bid in the NCAA tournament when it meets Alabama on Thursday night in the PMAC.

The Lady Tigers (17-10, 8-6 Southeastern Conference) have won their last four games, while the Tide (12-15, 2-12 SEC) has lost its last eight. LSU coach Nikki Caldwell said the Tide’s record does not matter – her team needs to give its all.

“I tell our team all the time – ‘it does not matter if there’s not a number in front of our opponent,’” Caldwell said during her radio show Tuesday night. “We have to still go out and play like we’re one of the best teams in the country.”

Caldwell said Alabama is a good team, so not respecting it going in to the game could lead to a letdown.

“How do you want to finish your regular season?” Caldwell said. “Let’s really make a statement going into the SEC tournament of who we are and how we’re going to play LSU basketball.”

Following the Kentucky game, LSU has four players averaging double-digit scoring, with junior forward Theresa Plaisance leading with 17.8 points per game. Plaisance also leads in rebounding, averaging eight per game. Junior guard Jeanne Kenney leads the team with 115 total assists, averaging four per game.

For the Tide, sophomore guard Daisha Simmons leads scoring with 12.4 points per game and 107 total assists. In Alabama’s last game — a 67-61 loss to Florida — junior guard Shafontaye Myers led all scoring with 15 points while senior guard Meghan Perkins added 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

LSU hit its peak around the same time last season, as it went on a six-game winning streak that began with defeating then-No. 6 Kentucky. Senior guard Adrienne Webb said she noticed the similarities and expects the team to click accordingly.

“When season’s starts winding down, you get accustomed to knowing your team and how to play together,” Webb said. “We really started coming together as a team. It’s showing in our play.”

LSU hosts the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year.