By Jeff Rhodes, Sports Showtime producer
Nikki Caldwell continued her undefeated start in her debut season at LSU, leading the Lady Tiger basketball team to a 51-40 victory over the fourteenth ranked Georgetown Hoyas.
Senior LaSondra Barrett led the Tigers with 11 points and eight rebounds in 35 minutes of action.
Destini Hughes did a little bit of everything for the Tigers, scoring 10 points, dishing out two assists, grabbing four steals and even blocking a shot.
“It was very fast paced,” Hughes said. “I didn’t think I was all over the place I was just trying to lock in and play defense and I guess that had me everywhere.”
Things weren’t all rosy for the Lady Tigers though. They committed 26 turnovers after committing 22 in their Monday night victory at Wichita State.
“As the season goes along, we’ll settle down a little I think… We’re going to take care of the ball a lot better,” Barrett said.
The Tigers were able to force Georgetown into 23 turnovers and held them to under 25% shooting from the field.
In the second half, the Tigers extended their five point halftime lead thanks to free throws. LSU made 12 second half free throws, compared to Georgetown’s three.
Barrett said the free throw advantage and the Tigers defense helped them to secure the victory.
“I would say (free throws) and also rebounding at the end we locked in on boxing out and grabbing key rebounds,” she said.
Caldwell knows that the team’s work towards winning a national title this season has already begun and knows her team still has a lot of work to do between now and the NCAA tournament.
“We want to make sure that we’re doing everything we need to do to prepare for March Madness, and it starts now,” Caldwell said. “For this group it’s about daily improvement… This team has a lot of room for growth which is great and I’m glad that we’re tested early so they can see where we stack up but they can also see where we can improve”
The Lady Tigers return to action Saturday at Tulane and will return home Monday at 7:00 to face Arkansas Pine-Bluff in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Contact Jeff at [email protected]
