After upsetting then No. 24 Tennessee on Sunday, the Lady Tigers will battle Florida for their last home game of the season tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the PMAC.
LSU (9-18, 3-11 Southeastern Conference) suffered a 53-45 loss to Florida (20-7, 8-6 SEC) in Gainsville, Florida, on Jan. 17. The Lady Tigers hope to turn things around tonight.
“We are a totally different team than what we were when we played them back in January, and so are they,” said LSU coach Nikki Fargas. “I told our team that we really have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
Florida poses a threat on both ends of the floor.
Junior forward Alexis Hyder spearheads LSU’s offense with 11.5 points per game. But the Gators aren’t far behind with junior guard Ronni Williams averaging 11.2 points per game. Florida tops the SEC rankings with 79.0 points per game.
Hyder leads the Lady Tigers in rebounds with 7.8 per game. Although Williams equals Hyder’s production on the boards, Florida takes the No. 1 conference rankings in rebounds per game, averaging 37.8 rebounds as a team.
“We’re familiar with how they play ­— their leading scorers, leading rebounders, their go-to players,” said sophomore guard Jenna Deemer. “In practice, I guess we’ll go over a lot of sets and how we’re going to defend.”
As they prepare for the Gators, the Lady Tigers will honor their three seniors — forward Akilah Bethel, guard Anne Pedersen and forward Ann Jones.
The moment is bittersweet for the veterans as they prepare to leave it all on the court tonight. After having a choice to return to LSU for one more season, Pedersen fought hard with the rest of her team as injuries plagued LSU all season.
Even though her time as a Lady Tiger is almost done, Pedersen said it will always be a part of her life, and she doesn’t regret one minute of this season.
“I came back for the team, and I came back to still be a part of LSU because it’s a big part of my life and I love my teammates and I enjoy my coaches,” Pedersen said. “You’ve got to take the good with the bad. Every year has been a different experience.”
The Lady Tigers conclude their 2015-16 campaign against South Carolina at 1 p.m. in Columbia, South Carolina, on Sunday.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Wingate Jones

LSU senior guard/forward Anne Pedersen (4) passes during LSU's 63-53 loss against Auburn on Feb. 1, 2016 in the PMAC