Last season’s LSU women’s basketball team quickly learned how difficult it was to play on the road in the Southeastern Conference.
This season’s squad doesn’t want that to happen again.
“We actually try to use [last season] as motivation,” said senior forward Shanece McKinney. “We just think that we can’t have any letdowns on the road or at home, so we use that as motivation.”
Heading into the team’s first conference road game of the year on Thursday at Missouri, the 2013-14 season has a similar feel to the squad’s previous campaign. LSU has won 11 of its last 13, including a 4-1 record on the road.
The Lady Tigers rolled into SEC play last year looking to keep momentum in their favor after defeating Ole Miss 84-79 in the conference opener in the PMAC. The victory was LSU’s ninth in its past 11 contests, giving the squad confidence heading into its first road SEC game at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. on Jan. 6, 2013.
LSU coach Nikki Caldwell’s young team — half of the roster was either freshmen or sophomores — received a firsthand lesson against the Gators.
Florida overcame a 9-point deficit in the second half to hand LSU its first conference loss of the year. The Lady Tigers lost their next three SEC road games against Arkansas, South Carolina and Kentucky.
Six of the next 10 conference games this season will be away from the PMAC. LSU is looking to reverse last year’s trend as quickly as possible, starting after the team’s 82-68 win against Florida on Jan. 12.
“This is not the same [LSU] team,” Caldwell said. “We talked about that every year. You have a new opportunity, but more importantly, let’s just stay in the moment. We had a great win over Florida, but at 12:01 we need to leave it as a team, and we have to focus on what we have to do.”
Last season, the Lady Tigers averaged 78 points per game in the 11 games leading up to their SEC road opener against Florida. LSU averaged 60 points in its next seven games, four of which were losses.
Caldwell said her formula for success isn’t too complicated this season.
“We try to keep the game very simple,” Caldwell said. “Let’s execute on the offensive end by going to our weapons. Let’s not do anything outside of our own game. Defensively, we have to be ready to defend the basketball, keep people off the glass and not foul them.”
The fuel for inspiration is certainly there. After dropping a conference game to Texas A&M on Jan. 9, LSU needs to impress on the road in the coming weeks.
Caldwell said she believes her players know what’s at stake, and they are ready for the upcoming challenge.
“I hope they’re motivated,” Caldwell said. “Their self-motivation comes from within the fact that you are a competitor, and you get to go out and wear the purple and gold and represent something bigger than yourself.”