BATON ROUGE — LSU’s seventh-ranked women’s basketball team will attempt to win in Tuscaloosa for the first time in over 14 years on Thursday as the Lady Tigers face Alabama at 7 p.m. at Coleman Coliseum.
The game will be broadcast by the LSU Sports Network and can be found on the radio in the Baton Rouge area on 107.3 FM as well as the Internet at www.LSUsports.net. College Sports-Southeast will televise game and it will be replayed at 10:30 p.m. on Friday.
LSU (18-3 overall, 7-1 in the SEC) enters the game riding an eight-game overall winning streak as well as a six-game Southeastern Conference winning streak. The eight-game streak is the nation’s third-longest current streak, while the six straight wins in the SEC is one shy of tying the school-record of seven set by the 1982-83 team. LSU is currently riding a school-record SEC road winning streak with five consecutive victories and the Lady Tigers’ 7-1 SEC record is the best start ever by an LSU team.
Alabama (13-8, 3-5) has dropped its last two league games. The Crimson Tide has however won seven straight over LSU in Tuscaloosa. LSU’s last win at Alabama was an 83-82 victory on Feb. 8, 1986.
Last year, the teams split a pair of meetings with Alabama winning in Tuscaloosa, 71-66, on Jan. 28 and the Lady Tigers posting a 75-50 victory in Baton Rouge on Feb. 3. LSU holds an 18-14 series advantage.
“We have a target on our back right now,” LSU coach Sue Gunter said. “These next two games are big ones for both Alabama and Arkansas. I’m sure Alabama sees this game as being very pivotal towards their postseason hopes.
“(Alabama coach Rick) Moody is one of the few coaches in the SEC that is having to rebuild this year. They are still very good. They are very physical and they have exceptional quickness and we’ll have to once again be ready to play a 40 minute game in order to be successful.”
The Lady Tigers are coming off a 54-52 win over 13th-ranked Auburn on Sunday, a game that saw only four LSU players score. In addition, the 54 points ties the LSU record for fewest points in a victory.
“I thought we were lucky to win that game,” Gunter said. “The thing you saw against Auburn was our experience step up. When you have four players on the floor that have started 51 games together, that makes a difference.”
Against Alabama, the Lady Tigers look to continue to ride the hot shooting of 5-foot-11 senior Katrina Hibbert. Hibbert, who hit a career-best six 3-pointers against Auburn, has connected on 10 3’s in LSU’s last two SEC games and she ranks third in the league in 3-point field goal percentage at 44.2 percent. Hibbert is averaging 14.4 points and she ranks second in the SEC with 5.7 assists per game.
Joining Hibbert in the lineup for the Lady Tigers will be 5-11 junior guard Angelia Crockett (4.3 points, 4.1 assists), 5-9 junior guard Marie Ferdinand (17.4 points, 5.9 assists), 5-11 junior forward April Brown (11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds) and 5-11 sophomore center DeTrina White (11.9 points, 9.5 rebounds). White continues to lead the SEC in rebounds and double-doubles (8) and she ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage (60.7 pct.).
Alabama’s lineup feature three juniors and two sophomores and the Crimson Tide is paced by New Orleans native Shondra Johnson. Johnson, a 5-9 sophomore guard, averages 12.3 points and 4.8 rebounds game.
Other starters for Alabama include 5-9 junior guard Boo Barnes (9.0 points, 5.5 rebounds), 5-10 junior forward Taquilla Allen (13.9 points, 5.5 rebounds), 6-1 junior forward Joni Crenshaw (8.0 points, 5.0 rebounds), and 6-2 sophomore Lanisha Cartwell (7.4 points, 4.9 rebounds).
After the Alabama game, LSU returns to action on Saturday at 11 a.m. when they play host to Arkansas in Pack the PMAC IV at the Maravich Assembly Center.