BATON ROUGE — LSU’s 12th-ranked women’s basketball team will take a break from its Southeastern Conference schedule on Tuesday as the Lady Tigers renew and old rivalry with the University of New Orleans.
Tipoff for the contest is set for 7 p.m. 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 will also be broadcast on the Internet at www.LSUsports.net.
LSU enters the contest riding a four-game winning streak as the Lady Tigers are 14-3 overall. LSU stands atop the SEC with a 5-1 league mark. LSU has also won a school-record 43 straight non-conference home games, a streak that dates back to the 1995 season.
New Orleans has won three straight and four of its last five and stands at 7-7 overall. The Privateers are in second place in the Sun Belt Conference with a 3-1 league mark.
The game will be the 21st between the two teams, but it’s the first meeting since March 1, 1993 when UNO posted a 77-61 win over LSU in New Orleans.
LSU, who has lost its last two games to the Privateers, leads the overall series 15-5. The LSU-UNO series dates back to the 1976-77 season.
“They’re a good team and they always play us tough here,” LSU coach Sue Gunter said. “When you look and see who they’ve played and that they knocked off Arkansas State on the road, that’s impressive. That’s a big win and they did that recently so they are not going to be intimidated.
“This will be an opportunity for them to come in here and upset us. If we’re not careful we’ll be ripe for it. We have worked very hard to get where we are and we can’t afford to overlook anyone. I don’t think we will, but it’s hard not to.”
The New Orleans game ends a string of six straight contests that has seen the Lady Tigers play three top 25 teams as well as five SEC opponents. LSU is 4-2 over its last six games.
“Our last six games have been very stressful,” Gunter said. “Somehow we have to find the resiliency to get through the UNO game.”
As a team, the Lady Tigers lead the SEC and rank second in the nation in field goal percentage at 50.4 percent. Four of LSU’s starting five are shooting 50 percent or better from the field led by DeTrina White’s 61.8 percent, which ranks second in the SEC.
The Lady Tigers continue to be paced by the scoring of 5-foot-9 junior guard Marie Ferdinand and the rebounding of 5-11 sophomore center White. Ferdinand ranks second in the SEC with 18.1 points a contest, while White leads the league in rebounds with a 9.7 average. White ranks third on the squad with 12.5 points a game.
LSU’s 5-11 senior guard/forward Katrina Hibbert, who is averaging 13.6 points a game, leads the SEC in assists with 6.3 a contest.
Rounding out the Lady Tiger lineup are 5-11 junior guard Angelia Crockett (4.2 points, 3.9 assists) and 5-11 junior forward April Brown (11.5 points, 4.9 rebounds).
UNO is led by 5-11 junior guard Jen Ludwicki, who is averaging 16.7 points and 5.7 rebounds a contest. Marylou Agustin, a 5-8 senior guard, is second on the squad with 9.6 points and she leads the nation in steals with 4.9 a game. As a team, the Privateers rank eight in the nation with 7.6 3-point field goals a contest.
“(Jen) Ludwicki is an outstanding player,” Gunter said. “I have great respect for UNO. They are always very competitive and tomorrow night will be no different.”