With one of her youngest teams since taking over as head coach at  LSU, coach  Nikki Fargas and the Lady Tigers’ success ultimately will be contingent upon the contributions of the underclassmen.
  LSU lost seniors  Alexis Hyder,  Rina Hill and  Jasmine Rhodes to graduation and the leadership roles had to be filled coming into this season.
 This year’s new edition is currently being led by the Lady Tigers’ “Big Three”,  senior guard Raigyne Louis,  junior guard Chloe Jackson and  sophomore forward Ayana Mitchell. These three have carried the bulk of the load while relying on freshmen and sophomores for support.
 While trying to contribute to the team in every way they can, the underclassmen are  facing some of the toughest teams in the country playing in the  Southeastern Conference.
 “You’ve got a lot of great teams emerging,”  Fargas said. “We have a lot of teams consistently ranked in the top 25 every year. When you are getting seven or eight teams in the tournament every year, you get that respect. There are a lot of great players in this conference, as well as great coaches.”
 Young teams often find themselves battling the lack of discipline with its inexperienced players.
 However, Fargas believes the only cause of underclassmen underperforming would be due to not preparing the correct way. If the Lady Tigers prepares the way they should then the confidence will come over time.
 “The only mental wall they would hit is if they are not filling their tank,”  Fargas said. “What I mean by that is if they are not putting in work before they compete. The rookie class has come in and done a lot of good things for us. After showing that they can compete with the best teams in the country and beat one of the best teams in the country, I hope it gives them that confidence moving forward.”
 One freshman in particular,  guard Khayla Pointer, has given  Fargas’ team another weapon.  Pointer has shown the ability to create shots for herself, get to the rim and knock down the three at an efficient rate.
  Pointer is shooting  34.1 percent from the field through  18 games this season and herosports.com listed her as one of the best freshman shooters in the  SEC. She is averaging  20 minutes per game playing a major role off the bench for the Tigers and adding  46 assists, the  second most on the team.
 “ Pointer brings a calmness and a level of poise at the point,”  Fargas said. “She has the ability to break down defenders. She has the ability to get her teammates involved and still be a scorer. She understands the game. She is a kid with very high IQ.”
 Just like most rookies,  Pointer didn’t have the easiest transition into playing Division I college basketball, especially playing in the  SEC.
 “Of course all freshman struggle the first few months as they get used to things,”  Pointer said. “It’s definitely different at the college level. There’s a lot more I have to know. I have to know all of the plays, all of the spots the players are supposed to be and run the plays to the right side. It is a huge transition, but we’ll get better and get the experience that comes with it.”
 In order to help her translate her game to the next level more smoothly,  Pointer has made a conscientious effort to model her game after senior guard Raigyne Louis.
 “ Raigyne Louis has been my mentor,”  Pointer said. “I’ve been watching her for four or five years now ever since Nikki been coaching here. She’s the one I look up to. I admire her game and I try to take the pieces from it and be as good as she is.”
 Pointer, along with  freshman forward Raven Farley and  freshman center Faustine Aifuwa have given  Fargas and the team quality production this season. This program will need these players to continue to trend in the right direction in order to achieve its goals.