LSU women’s basketball coach Nikki Caldwell will say her team’s goal starting the 2014-15 season was “no man left behind.”
But Caldwell had to leave one man, or woman, behind to start the season — her best player, junior guard Danielle Ballard.
Ballard, who ended the season as LSU’s leading scorer, was suspended for the first 14 games as the Lady Tigers went 7-7 with losses to two 100-plus RPI teams.
Upon Ballard’s return, the Lady Tigers propelled themselves into the NCAA Tournament with a 10-7 record down the stretch, including a four-game win streak and four top-25 victories in Southeastern Conference play.
Even with a first-round exit to sixth-seeded South Florida on Saturday, Caldwell said she was proud of her team’s perseverance. She said Ballard’s presence allowed LSU to put all of the “pieces of the puzzle” together after a difficult start to the season.
“Obviously, when you lose great players in that previous class — Jeanne [Kenney], Theresa [Plaisance] and Shanece [McKinney] — you look at players who can come in and really be contributors immediately,” Caldwell said. “We were obviously faced with the challenge of competing at a high level in our non-conference schedule without our best player, Danielle Ballard.”
Caldwell also said Ballard’s return took pressure off sophomore guard Raigyne Moncrief, LSU’s second-leading scorer. After shooting troubles in her first two SEC games, Moncrief finished in double digits in all but three conference games once Ballard was inserted into the lineup.
“Moncrief played much more at ease [once Ballard returned],” Caldwell said.
“If you had the combination of Scottie Pippen and [Michael] Jordan or Dwayne Wade and LeBron [James], she was able to play that way.”
Despite losing forward Sheila Boykin and guard DaShawn Harden to graduation, the Lady Tigers will return with an experienced roster led by Ballard. With junior forward Anne Pedersen also graduating but with one season of eligibility left, LSU could boast five seniors next season, including transfer forward Alexis Hyder.
After averaging 12.8 points and 7.4 rebounds in two seasons at North Texas, Hyder sat out this year due to NCAA rules. The 5-foot-11 Hyder, who Caldwell said plays bigger than her height, should provide a huge boost to a frontcourt that struggled to counteract the size of SEC teams and South Florida in the NCAA Tournament.
Along with incoming four-star forward Ayanna Mitchell, Caldwell also will count on 6-foot-3 forwards Ann Jones and Alliyah Fareo, who both battled injuries throughout the year.
“I’m very much aware of the size of the SEC, but I also understand that there’s players that play bigger than what they are,” Caldwell said. “We have players that are capable of giving us that. I like the fact that we’re a versatile team that can press more. We can extend our defense and put our post game at the top of our press. That’s an advantage for us because we have the mobility.”
Caldwell also said the Lady Tigers will start a home-and-home series with Connecticut, which is currently the No. 1 team in the country, next season. The first game will be played at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut.
“Historically, with what [Connecticut is] doing and what they’ve meant to women’s game, it’s a great game for us to play in,” Caldwell said. “I’ve been able to be on the side where at Tennessee we played at Connecticut. It’s a great environment. You’re going to have 10,000 people screaming and yelling at you. Well, we had that at USF. So, to me, putting your team in that environment will also be beneficial.”
You can reach James Bewers on Twitter @JamesBewers_TDR.