BATON ROUGE — The LSU Lady Tigers, a consensus top 10 selection in the pre-season women’s basketball polls, play host to Spartak Moscow at 4:15 p.m. Monday in an exhibition contest in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
“This Russian team will be a good test for us,” said LSU head coach Sue Gunter, entering her 19th season with a 347-186 (.651) mark. “We’ve had three good weeks of practice, and now we’re ready to play someone else. The Russian players have a lot of size, so we’ll see how we match up with a big team before we go to Albuquerque.”
LSU, an NCAA Elite Eight participant last year, opens the regular season Friday at New Mexico in the first round of the Women’s Sports Foundation Classic in Albuquerque. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. CST, and the game will be televised by College Sports Southeast. The Lady Tigers will play either Duke or UCLA on Saturday in the event’s final round.
A cautious smile crawled across Gunter’s face as she reflected upon her program’s recent achievements and the prospects for her 200001 club. LSU has reached the NCAA Sweet 16 in three of the last four seasons, and the Lady Tigers return four starters from the Elite Eight squad which was 25-7 overall, 11-3 in the Southeastern Conference.
Gunter, who last summer was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, expressed satisfaction with the respect LSU has earned and with the recognition it has received. What remains, however, is concern about how her team will deal with the pressure of raised expectations.
“I think we’ll handle it well,” Gunter said. “These players have fought from behind enough to realize now that they have the target on their chests. They’ve earned that respect, and now everybody is going to be coming at us the way we’ve been coming at everybody else.”
Four starters — guards Marie Ferdinand and Angelia Crockett, forward April Brown and center DeTrina White — return from last season’s Elite Eight squad, whose tallest first-stringer was only 5-11. The core of the squad is loaded with experience, as the trio of Ferdinand, Brown and White has appeared in LSU’s starting line-up for 62 consecutive games. The veterans are complimented by four other letterwinners and a group of gifted newcomers to give LSU a club capable of another significant post-season march.
“If we’re at full strength and everyone is healthy, we can play because I think we proved last year that if you have athletic 5-10, 5-11 players, you can play with anybody. The height doesn’t concern me, it’s the lack of bodies at the four and five positions.
“Meanwhile, our perimeter game is as good as it ever has been,” Gunter continued. “So, you’re going to see us play the game a great deal between the two free-throw lines. If we let the ball get down deep against us, we’re in trouble. We need to do a good job with our presses and half-court defense to take advantage of our speed and quickness. We’re not going to overpower anybody; we’re going to have to play up-tempo.”
The Lady Tigers’ backcourt features one of the premier off-guards in the nation in Ferdinand, a 5-9 senior who led LSU last season in scoring (17.5 ppg), assists (5.3 apg) and steals (2.9 spg). The 2000 first-team all-SEC selection enjoyed an extremely productive summer as a member of the United States Women’s Select Team, helping the squad earn the gold medal at the prestigious Jones Cup Tournament in Taipei, Taiwan. One of the most explosive players in women’s college basketball, Ferdinand excels on both ends of the floor as a scorer, rebounder and defender.
“Marie is the consummate two-guard,” Gunter said. “If she’s not the best two-guard in the country, then she is on a very short list. She brings so much to the floor in every respect. She does a great job in our offense, and she is always matched up defensively against the opponents’ best perimeter player. She deserves all of the notice and accolades she has received, and we’re not worried about her stepping up and getting the job done.”
Crockett, a senior who was thrust in to the role of point guard last season after a pre-season injury to Kisha James, offers LSU tremendous versatility in the backcourt, as she can play the point, off-guard or small forward. The 5-11 Crockett started 27 games at the point last season, averaging 3.5 points and 4.2 assists per game.
“Angelia stepped in after Kisha’s injury, we never missed a beat, and we had a great year with her at the helm,” Gunter said. “The greatest thing about Angelia is her versatility; whatever role you ask her to accept, she will do it. I think she has challenged herself to play at a higher level for her senior year. She will be a very pivotal player for us this season.”
James , a 5-7 sophomore, returns to action in 2000-01 after missing last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in LSU’s final exhibition game. James played in 29 games as a true freshman in 1998-99, and she was the projected starter at point guard last year prior to her injury.
“Kisha has worked so hard in rehabilitating her knee, which demonstrates the type of competitor she is,” Gunter said. “All last year, after her injury, I don’t ever remember her missing a thing for her will be to regain her total confidence in the knee. She is one of those players who can do great things for you offensively and defensively; her court awareness is very good, she is an excellent ball handler, and she knows how to run the team.”
LSU’s veteran backcourt players will be complimented by a highly-touted newcomer, true freshman Doneeka Hodges, a 5-9 prep all-star who can play either guard spot.
“Doneeka plays the game with a great deal of intelligence, and she has a really sweet shooting stroke,” Gunter said. “She can shoot the three, and it looks absolutely effortless. In addition, her decision-making capacity for a college freshman is amazing.”
Senior Allison Weiner, a three-year letterwinner, may have an expanded role on this year’s club. The 5-10 guard is a leader both on and off the floor, as she is a member of the Southeastern Conference Good Works Team, a collection of student-athletes who play active roles in community projects.
“There is probably no one on our team who is more respected by her teammates than Allison Weiner,” Gunter said. “She works so hard, and she pushes her teammates, particularly in the conditioning aspect of our program. She knows she is going to play a limited amount of time, but we know we are a better program because of her, and we would miss her sorely if she wasn’t here.”
Brown, a senior who earned all-tournament honors at the 2000 NCAA East Regional, will be counted upon both for her considerable floor skills and for her leadership ability. She enjoyed a magnificent 1999-2000 campaign, averaging 11.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per outing. Primarily a power forward, Brown can also play the small forward and center positions.
“April Brown is a warrior,” Gunter said, “and she is an unbelievable big-game player. She has a wonderful, analytical basketball mind. She’s not that fast and she’s not that big, but she can take you outside and shoot the three, she can post up and score, and she finds the open player with her passes. She does an absolutely beautiful job of reading defenses and executing within our motion offense. When she walks on the floor, she just gets the job done. April has the heart of a lion, and she will have a great year for us.”
Sophomore Ke-Ke Tardy, LSU’s tallest player at 6-1, will be called upon to play both the small and power forward positions this season. Tardy played in 31 games last year as a true freshman, averaging six points and two rebounds per contest.
“I’m very proud of Ke-Ke for the way she has worked to improve,” Gunter said. “She stayed here all summer and worked very hard. I competition is like, she knows what it takes to get better and perform. Her work ethic and attitude have been outstanding, and she knows she has the opportunity to play significant minutes.”
Senior Stacey Newton, an all-SEC softball player who has completed her eligibility in that sport, returns to the women’s basketball program after a one-year absence. The 5-11 Newton was a reserve forward on LSU’s 1998 WNIT team and on the Lady Tigers’ 1999 NCAA Sweet 16 club, so she brings valuable frontcourt experience and depth to the program.
“Stacey decided to totally dedicate herself to softball last year, and I’m very pleased she will be back with us this season,” Gunter said. “One of the things Stacey brings to us is a winning attitude. In her four years as a softball player here, they just did not lose very often. She brings a strong mental toughness and work ethic to our team. She will give us a big, strong body who will rebound, defend and set some awesome screens.”
Talented true freshman Roneeka Hodges, a 5-11 high school all-American, will make an immediate impact at both the small and power forward positions. A left-handed player, she is capable of dominating play on both ends of the court.
“Roneeka is very quick, she has the ability to score off the dribble, she jumps extremely well, and she shoots the three,” Gunter said. “She will just go up and over you if she has to. She has a God-given talent for the game, and she’s a very unselfish player.”
The Lady Tigers may lack depth in the paint; however, they are not wanting for quality with the intimidating White patrolling the low block. The fabulous 5-11 junior, despite her stature, is a force inside, and she is one of the most feared post players in the country.
The 1999 National Freshman of the Year and a 2000 second-team all-SEC selection, White’s formidable presence will be vital to the Lady Tigers’ success. Last season, she led the SEC in field goal percentage (.617) and she finished No. 2 in the league in rebounding (8.8 rpg). White was LSU’s third-leading scorer, averaging 12 points per contest.
White, however, has not practiced during the pre-season due to a back injury. Gunter hopes to have her in the lineup by Dec. 10, when LSU plays host to Tulane.
“DeTrina is the force, she dominates the low block,” Gunter said. “It doesn’t matter if she’s going against a 6-4 or 6-5 player. She’s got that powerful build, she jumps well and she runs the floor like a small forward. DeTrina is also a very explosive player; she’s got that little touch of anger that you like to see on the floor. She has earned a lot of respect in our league and around the country.”