After allowing then-No. 5 Tennessee to tally 75 points in Knoxville on Jan. 22, the LSU women’s basketball team will face the challenge of shutting down the Southeastern Conference’s second-leading scorer when the Lady Tigers (10-9, 4-3 SEC) face Ole Miss  (14-6, 4-3 SEC) at 8 p.m. tonight at the PMAC. 
Senior forward Tia Faleru leads the Rebel offense, averaging 15.6 points and a conference-leading 10.6 boards per game. 
“We’ve played parts of Ole Miss,” said LSU coach Nikki Caldwell. “Faleru is a very explosive player and their go-to player inside. We had the opportunity to go against some talented post players in the SEC already when you look at South Carolina and Tennessee.”
The Lady Tigers struggled against the post play of then-No. 1 South Carolina on Jan. 4 and Tennessee.
Against South Carolina, LSU allowed Gamecock freshman guard/forward A’ja Wilson to score 21 points and tally 13 boards, for a third straight double-double. The Gamecocks outscored the Lady Tigers 36-26 in the paint.
Last week against the Lady Volunteers, senior center Isabelle Harrison put up 25 points and eight rebounds after tallying three-straight double-doubles against LSU in the 2013-2014 season. 
The Lady Tigers were outrebounded a combined 71-60 against South Carolina and Tennessee. 
The Rebels average 41.2 rebounds per game, which is eighth in the SEC. The Lady Tigers are twelfth in the conference in rebounding margin with plus 1.9 per game.  
“Faleru is an unbelievable offensive rebounder, and we’ve got to keep her off the glass,” Caldwell said. “She runs the floor extremely hard. She’ll get after loose plays for those hustle plays, and we’ve got to match that.”    
Although LSU posted a season-high 84 points against then-No. 10 Kentucky on Jan. 18, LSU tallied only 58 points against Tennessee four days later. The Lady Tigers have an opportunity to get back on track offensively against a Rebels’ defense that allows 62.3 points per game. 
LSU’s offense has had its ups and downs since junior guard Danielle Ballard returned against Vanderbilt on Jan. 8.
Against then-No. 15 Mississippi State on Jan. 15 and Kentucky, Ballard tallied a combined 49 points and 14 rebounds, but she struggled in the first half against Tennessee, posting only four points. 
Since Ballard’s return, the team has had to adjust to her strengths, and the Lady Tigers’ 3-point shooting has declined. Besides Ballard, LSU has shot only 19.5 percent from 3-point land since her return. 
Freshman guard Jenna Deemer leads the Lady Tigers in 3-point percentage, shooting 35.7 from behind the arc, but Deemer has hit only five 3-pointers since Ballard’s return. 
Although Ole Miss ranks 13th in the SEC in scoring defense, the Rebels have defended the perimeter well, allowing their opponents to shoot 24.9 percent from 3-point land. 
“It’s harder to get my shot off [because teams scout],” Deemer said. “But, I think once we get that chemistry, once we get that flow of things it will be much easier. It is okay for Danielle and [sophomore guard Raigyne Moncrief] to attack the goal because it takes pressure off of me. I definitely have read my screens and come off harder when they are coming off with me.”
You can reach Morgan Prewitt on Twitter @kmprewitt_TDR.