BATON ROUGE — LSU’s 15th-ranked women’s basketball team will have more than one big test on Saturday as many of the Lady Tigers will finish their final exams in the morning and then a couple hours later they will take the court against Michigan in the SEC-Big 10 Challenge at the Maravich Assembly Center.
The LSU-Michigan game starts at 1 p.m. and will be televised to a national audience on ESPN2. It’s the first-ever national television regular-season home game for the Lady Tigers.
LSU enters the contest riding a five-game winning streak and with a 5-1 overall mark, however the Lady Tigers haven’t played since an 80-74 win over second-ranked Georgia nine days ago. Michigan entered the week undefeated, however the Wolverines fell to Vanderbilt, 76-60, on Tuesday in Ann Arbor. The game will be the first-ever meeting between the teams.
LSU will carry an 11-game overall home court winning streak into the Michigan game. In addition, the Lady Tigers have won a school-record 38 straight non-conference home games, a streak that dates back to the 1995 season.
Saturday’s 1 p.m. tipoff will come just a few hours after seven Lady Tigers finish taking the last of their final exams.
“It’s always hard this time of year trying to juggle finals and practice,” LSU coach Sue Gunter said. “This is a very stressful time, but it happens every year. I do think we’ll be ready to play because the game will be a way to relieve some of that stress. Finals will be over after tomorrow morning and then we’ll be able to concentrate just on basketball for the next month.”
One of the keys to LSU’s success this season has been its combination of good defense and offensive execution. Through six games, LSU ranks fifth in the nation, and second in the Southeastern Conference, in scoring defense allowing just 52.2 points a contest. In addition, LSU leads the SEC in assists per game (24.2) and the Lady Tigers ranks fourth in the nation in field goal percentage (51.7 pct.).
“I think there’s a chance we’ll be a little bit rusty,” Gunter said. “What we have to do is hang on for the first five to eight minutes of the game. We have to be careful that we don’t dig ourselves a hole we can’t get out of.
“This is an experienced team and we play with a lot of poise and confidence so I really don’t think the nine-day layoff will make that much of a difference.”
Indivdually, senior Katrina Hibbert leads the SEC and ranks second in the nation with 8.5 assists per game. Hibbert also ranks second in the SEC and ninth in the country with 4.4 steals a game. Junior Marie Ferdinand is fifth nationally in steals (4.5 per game) and 20th in the nation with 6.8 assists a contest. LSU is the only team in the nation with two players ranked among the top 20 in the nation in both assists and steals.
Ferdinand is also LSU’s top scoring threat, averaging 18.0 points a contest, which ranks third in the league. Hibbert is third on the squad with 13.3 points a contest.
Joining Ferdinand and Hibbert in the starting lineup will be 5-10 junior point guard Angelia Crockett (1.5 points, 1.0 rebounds), 5-11 junior forward April Brown (14.2, 4.8) and 5-11 sophomore center DeTrina White (11.3, 8.2).
Michigan returns all five starters from last year’s team posted an 18-12 overall mark and advanced to the second round of the Women’s NIT. Leading the way for the Wolverines is 5-10 senior forward Stacey Thomas (13.4 points, 7.9 rebounds).
Joining Thomas in the Michigan lineup will be 5-7 sophomore Alayne Ingram (12.4, 3.0), 5-11 junior Anne Thorius (7.4, 3.7), 6-2 sophomore Raina Goodlow (6.7, 3.6), and 6-2 senior Alison Miller (8.3, 6.3).
“Michigan is a very good team,” Gunter said. “I was very impressed with their backcourt, in particular the play of (Stacey) Thomas and (Alayne) Ingram. They are very athletic and they do a good job of getting up and down the floor. Their frontline is very strong and they rebound very well.
“This is a huge challenge for us and it’s a great opportunity for them as well. They are representing the Big 10 just as we are representing the SEC so I think it will be a very interesting contest.”