A season removed from earning a berth in the Sweet 16 with just seven active players, the No. 13 LSU women’s basketball team has used depth and a balanced attack to jump out to a 7-1 record.
Four Lady Tigers have averaged double-digit points through LSU’s first eight contests, and nine have averaged at least 16 minutes per game.
The deeper roster has allowed LSU coach Nikki Caldwell to use a variety of lineups based on the Lady Tigers’ opponent.
“There are times when we want to go with a defensive lineup and extend our defense 94 feet, and others we go to our quicker four-guard lineup.” Caldwell said. “We’ve also experimented with playing three of our bigs. So that’s the beauty of this team, having that versatility.”
LSU has taken full advantage of its recruiting class that consisted of three incoming freshmen and junior college-transfer guard DaShawn Harden.
The most highly touted of these newcomers — freshman guard Raigyne Moncrief — came into her premiere season with lofty expectations.
She has lived up to these expectations early, accruing a Southeastern Conference-best 25 steals through eight games and using a recent four-game stretch in which she has averaged just fewer than 20 points per game to become LSU’s leading scorer.
“She has all the talent of any player who has ever played here,” Caldwell said. “She’s quick, she’s athletic and she can get from one end of the floor to the other faster than anybody I’ve seen or coached or been around in the game in a long, long time.”
Moncrief earned her first SEC Freshman of the Week title for her performance at the Barclays Center Women’s Invitational in late November. She led LSU to wins against Rutgers and Michigan to win the Invitational.
Harden also provided a spark early in the season, claiming the first SEC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honor for the 2013-14 season after scoring a combined 39 points in her first two contests.
LSU’s only loss came in the semifinals of the preseason Women’s National Invitational Tournament where then-No. 5 Louisville used a five-minute 20-0 stretch to take down the Lady Tigers 88-67.