Basketball coaches usually run up and down the sidelines, and LSU women’s basketball coach Nikki Fargas is no different as she stalks the PMAC sidelines in her statement heels.
But when the Lady Tigers (7-9, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) take on Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. tonight at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Fargas will be restricted to the baseline.
At the Commodores’ home court, each team’s benches are parallel to the baskets, making communication difficult.
“I think now the head coaches can maybe go a certain length of the floor on the sideline, but you feel very far away from your team on one end of the floor,” Fargas said. “Tomorrow when we get to the gym, that is how we will practice. We will practice from afar so they are used to that and making sure they are taking the lead on the play action that we are running.”
Coaching from afar presents yet another challenge for an LSU squad looking to bounce back after a 53-35 loss against No. 13 Texas A&M on Sunday.
After earning its first conference win against Ole Miss on Jan. 7, the Lady Tigers faded in the second half against the Aggies.
The Lady Tigers went into the half leading by four points, but Texas A&M quickly pulled away with a 13-0 run in the first five minutes of the third quarter on their way to a victory.
“We took yesterday off because we had gone four or five days straight through,” Fargas said on Tuesday. “Today we came back and we tried to simulate what the game is going to look like and we put ourselves in a position to play 10 and 20 minutes. Then we took a half-time break to regroup and come back to play some more basketball. We also put ourselves in late-game situations.”
After the Tigers studied the defensive tactics of both Texas A&M and Ole Miss, Fargas said she hopes the team can play consistently for 40 minutes on defense.
Sophomore guard Jenna Deemer said playing strong defensively and offensively for 40 minutes is what the Lady Tigers will be focusing on during tonight’s game.
“We’re definitely not known for coming out in the third quarter with the same intensity as the first and second,” Deemer said. “We did game situations today in practice. We actually had a half time to regroup and refocus. I think it’s just important for us to know that the game is not over whether we’re up or down at the half. We’ve got to play for 40 minutes.”
Defensively, LSU will be facing a strong offensive lineup from Vanderbilt, who is shooting 47 percent from the field and 37 percent behind the arc.
Vanderbilt’s sophomore guard Christa Reed leads the team in points, averaging 11.3 points per game. Reed connects on 45 percent on her field goals and 44 percent on her three-point attempts.
The Lady Tigers will have to defend a multitude of weapons. This task will be more difficult with Fargas’ separation from the team.
Senior forward Akilah Bethel said she has never been to Vanderbilt but is looking forward to the challenge.
“I have never personally been to Vanderbilt but I have heard that their gym is weird,” Bethel said. “They have a lot of great shooters. They have a good inside and outside game, so we are just looking to try and shut that paint down, and make them shoot contested jump shots.”
You can reach Jourdan Riley on Twitter @jourdanr_TDR