Despite junior guard Danielle Ballard’s indefinite suspension from game action, the LSU women’s basketball team took care of business in its first exhibition game against Loyola—New Orleans on Wednesday night.
The Lady Tigers will continue to adjust to Ballard’s absence in their last exhibition against Mississippi College at 1 p.m. on Sunday in the PMAC before starting the regular season next Friday.
Against Loyola, LSU fans got a glimpse at the future of the program when freshman guard Jenna Deemer led the Lady Tigers with 26 points, highlighted by a 62.5 shooting clip from behind the 3-point-line.
“As a freshman, I look at it as a blessing to be able to play,” Deemer said. “Especially to be able to play in front of my hometown and my home state and have so many supporting me.”
While Deemer’s offensive performance was the highlight of the game, the Lady Tigers’ 30 turnovers against Loyola, which scored 27 points off turnovers, make keeping possession a focus in their preparation for the Choctaws.
“We were working too hard on the defensive end just to just give it back so that’s another area of concern,” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell.
On the defensive end, LSU’s energy and early pressure to the ball created turnovers. Sophomore guard Raigyne Moncrief sparked the Lady Tigers with six steals against Loyola.
However, this excitement to get to the ball led to missed assignments, allowing for uncontested shots and wide open lanes to the basket.
Sometimes the players making their first appearance in the purple and gold were unsure if the Lady Tigers were playing zone or man-to-man, Caldwell said.
“We’ve got new faces here,” Caldwell said. “We’re going to have to continue to work at our matchup and at our man. Sometimes when we were in man and zone because Jenna would drop down and she would look like we were in man, but we were really in zone.”
Another area of focus for Caldwell will be keeping players out of foul trouble. Sophomore guard Rina Hill and freshman center/forward Alliyah Fareo both fouled out against Loyola.
Heading into the season, Hill is expected to step up and take over the leadership void left by former guard Jeanne Kenney, so her presence on the court is crucial for the Lady Tigers’ success.
“Hopefully, when we get back on the court together on Sunday we are not looking at the same mistakes or same box score so growth is part of it and daily improvement,” Caldwell said. “Those are our little goals that we set everyday.”