BATON ROUGE — LSU’s 16th-ranked women’s basketball team will look to put an end to its first losing streak in nearly two years as the Lady Tigers play host to 20th-ranked Mississippi State at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Maravich Assembly Center.
The game will be broadcast by the LSU Sports Network and can be heard in the Baton Rouge area on 107.3 FM. The game can also be heard on the Internet on www.LSUSports.net. Members of this Official Web Site may watch the game using real-time video.
LSU enters the contest with a 10-3 overall mark after suffering back-to-back losses to 24th-ranked Tulane and second-ranked Tennessee. Prior to this two-game slide, LSU had not lost back-to-back games since losing the final two regular-season games of the 1997-98 season. LSU is 1-1 in Southeastern Conference play.
Mississippi State (11-1, 0-1) lost for the first time all year on Thursday as Florida knocked off the Lady Bulldogs, 85-72, in Gainesville. At 11-1, Mississippi State is still off to the best start in school history.
LSU leads the series with State, 26-4, which includes a perfect 13-0 mark against the Lady Bulldogs in Baton Rouge. Last year, LSU posted a 68-61 win over Mississippi State in Starkville. LSU has won five straight over Mississippi State with the Lady Bulldogs last win over the Lady Tigers being a 72-65 victory in 1995.
“The loss to Tennessee tells us that we really have step up in the Mississippi State game,” LSU coach Sue Gunter said. “The Mississippi State has a two-fold value to it because we play them twice this year. We need to win this game in Baton Rouge so at worst we come out of it with a split with them.
“They have a quality team. The thing they were lacking is a legitimate ‘go to’ player and they got it with LaToya Thomas. When you look at what they have done this year, it’s hard to not be impressed.”
Sunday’s game will feature the league’s top two scorers in Mississippi State’s Thomas and LSU’s Marie Ferdinand along with the top rebounder in the SEC in Lady Tiger DeTrina White. Thomas lead the SEC with 21.6 points a contest and she’s third in the league in rebounds with 8.8 per game.
Ferdinand is second in the league in scoring (18.5 points), assists (6.4 per game) and steals (3.5 per game), while White is tops in the SEC in rebounds (9.1 per game) and double-doubles with four.
“LaToya Thomas can do it all,” Gunter said. “She’s just an all-around outstanding player. She can shoot the 3-pointer, she can rebound, she passes very well and she’ s good defensively.”
The Lady Tigers continue to be paced by the play of Ferdinand and 5-11 senior guard/forward Katrina Hibbert. Ferdinand scored 16 points against Tennessee, however she turned the ball over a season-high eight times.
Hibbert had only six points against Tennessee, eight below her average. Hibbert is averaging 13.6 points a game and she leads the SEC in both assists (7.3) and steals (3.6).
Joining Hibbert and Ferdinand in the starting lineup for the Lady Tigers will be 5-11 junior point guard Angelia Crockett (3.9 points, 3.5 assists), 5-11 junior forward April Brown (11.4 points, 4.9 rebounds) and 5-11 sophomore center White (11.4, 9.1).
“We have to rally,” Gunter said. “We have to get going again. I don’t anticipate making any radical changes because there are no changes to make. We have to get some confidence back and we have to change our attitude.
“We’re not quite as aggressive with our play as we were early in the season. We more tentative and we can’t afford to play like that. For us to do well, we have to attack.”
Against State, the Lady Tigers will face a team that has four starters averaging in double-figures led by Thomas’ 21.6 points a game. Joining Thomas in the lineup will be 5-6 senior guard Angela Harris (9.0 points, 6.3 assists), 5-6 junior guard Cynthia Hall (15.6, 3.5 rebounds), 5-8 senior guard Nitra Perry (12.7, 8.3), and 6-0 sophomore forward Jennifer Fambrough (15.4, 5.3).
“When you look at Mississippi State’s overall team, they pose a lot of problems for you,” Gunter said. “They’re not big, but they are so quick and they’re outstanding on the defensive end.”
After Sunday, the Lady Tigers don’t return home until Jan. 23 when they play host to Ole Miss at 2 p.m.