Nikki Fargas has preached the importance of defense since taking over the LSU women’s basketball program in 2011.
Despite the injuries that have ravaged her roster this season, Fargas remains committed to her defensive mentality as the foundation to improve the Lady Tigers’ performance on the opposite end of the floor.
When the Lady Tigers take on No. 22 Missouri, expect LSU to keep its focus on the defensive side of the ball and keep the pace of the game as slow as possible.
“We definitely want to go back to what our identity should be, and it should be defending the basketball and rebounding,” Fargas said.
Defensively, the Lady Tigers (8-12, 2-5 Southeastern Conference) have been stout, holding all seven of their SEC opponents below their season average in points per game.
But LSU has struggled offensively.
The Lady Tigers average 54.9 points per game on the season, ranking last in the SEC and No. 321 in the NCAA. LSU is 14th in the league in three-pointers made with 40 treys made, which tops just three teams in the nation.
On the other side of the ball, the Lady Tigers been in the top half of the SEC. LSU ranks sixth in the conference in scoring defense, allowing only 56.0 points per game on the season and less than 54 points per game in SEC play.
In its most recent game on Saturday, LSU held Georgia to 46 points, the second lowest total of the season. A week earlier on Jan. 17, the Lady Tigers kept then-No. 20 Florida to a season low of 53 points and held then-No. 13 Texas A&M to 53 points, a season low on Jan. 10
The key difference in the games was LSU’s ability to net 53 points against Georgia (14-6, 2-5 SEC) while being held below 50 against the Aggies (14-5, 4-2 SEC) and Florida (16-4, 4-3 SEC).
“I think we have done a good job of holding teams under their normal scoring averages this season,” said junior guard Jasmine Rhodes. “We just haven’t been able to get our scoring average up. I think this time with us hitting the 50-point mark, it kind of gave us a boost.”
Reaching the 50-point mark has been a turning point for LSU this season. The Lady Tigers hold a 8-4 record in games where they tally more than 50 points compared with their 0-8 record in games where they total less than 50 points.
To build offensive consistency, the Lady Tigers plan to slow the pace down going into games instead of hurrying it up and taking easier shots.
In the win against Georgia, LSU dictated a slower tempo and was able to execute the plan, Fargas said.
“Now, we are working on being patient, using the clock for 30 seconds and taking the first good shot available for our team,” said junior guard Rina Hill.
Along with slowing the pace down, the Lady Tigers hope to improve rebounding.
Against the Lady Bulldogs, LSU notched 18 offensive rebounds and outrebounded Georgia, 38-28.
Rebounding has been a struggle for LSU this season. The Lady Tigers rank 13th in the SEC on rebounds per game for the season, but in conference play LSU have only been outrebounded twice, against Alabama and Texas A&M.
The improvement in rebounds has been helped by blocking out better, said junior forward Alexis Hyder, who is ninth in the SEC in rebounds per game and second in offensive rebounds per game.
LSU is not as big as some of the other teams in the SEC, coach Fargas said, so to be able to outrebound them shows heart and hustle.
“It’s showing that the hard work is paying off,” Fargas said. “It’s showing that our game plan to control the tempo of the game for 40 minutes can be effective.”