BATON ROUGE — The LSU Lady Tigers, ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press women’s basketball pre-season poll, open the 2000-01 season Friday at New Mexico in the Women’s Sports Foundation Classic. LSU will take on the Lady Lobos at approximately 9:30 p.m. CST at The Pit in Albuquerque. The tournament’s first game features Duke and UCLA in a 7 p.m. CST match-up.
Duke is ranked No. 4 by USA Today/ESPN and No. 5 by the Associated Press. LSU defeated Duke, 79-66, last season in the NCAA Sweet 16. New Mexico and UCLA are not ranked in the pre-season polls.
Friday’s losing teams will meet at 7 p.m. Saturday in the consolation game, with the winners facing off at 9 p.m. in the championship contest. “
The LSU-New Mexico game will be televised live in some parts of the country by College Sports Southeast. It can be seen on a tape-delayed basis in Baton Rouge at 7 p.m. Saturday on Cable Channel 18.
The LSU-UNM game will be broadcast live on the LSU Sports Radio Network, and it can be heard in Baton Rouge on WTGE-107.3 FM.
The Lady Tigers defeated Spartak Moscow, 81-42, Monday in an exhibition contest in preparation for the beginning of the regular season.
“We’re anxious to get started,” said LSU head coach Sue Gunter, “Though I don’t think we could have chosen a more difficult place to play than New Mexico. They draw crowds of over 10,000 for some games, so I know we’re going into a hostile environment.”
LSU will play without starting center DeTrina White, who has been sidelined by a back injury throughout pre-season practice. White, a 5-11 junior, is expected to return to the lineup by Dec. 10, when LSU plays host to Tulane. White will miss a start for the first time in her LSU career, as she has started all 62 games for the Lady Tigers over the past two seasons.
Without White in the lineup, LSU will employ a three-guard offense with 5-11 senior Angelia Crockett (3.5 pgg, 2.0 rpg in 1999-2000), 5-9 senior Marie Ferdinand (17.5, 4.6) and 5-7 sophomore Kisha James (medical redshirt). LSU will start 6-1 sophomore Ke-Ke Tardy (6.0, 2.0) and 5-11 senior April Brown (11.9, 4.8) at the forward spots.
Brown scored a game-high 18 points in the exhibition win over Spartak Moscow, while Ferdinand contributed 16 and Tardy added 14. True freshman guard Doneeka Hodges was impressive in her LSU debut, scoring 13 points and dishing out six assists.
Forward Roneeka Hodges, Doneeka’s twin sister, scored nine points while recording six rebounds and three steals.
New Mexico, a member of the Mountain West Conference, is expected to counter with 5-10 sophomore Chelsea Greer (2.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg) and 6-0 senior Jennifer Williams (7.6, 4.4) at the forwards, 6-3 sophomore Jordan Adams (11.3, 4.8) at center, and 5-8 senior Mikki Heckroth (3.9, 3.6) and 5-8 junior Molly McKinnon (7.8, 4.5) at the guards.
New Mexico recorded an 18-11 mark in 1999-2000, including a 13-4 record at home. The Lobos, directed by sixth-year head coach Don Flanagan, posted a 65-57 exhibition win over Lokomotiva last Sunday.
The Lady Tigers are 20-5 all-time in season openers; however, LSU has lost two of its last three season-opening contests. Last season, the Lady Tigers began the year with a 56-49 loss at Texas Tech in the Four in the Fall Classic.
LSU is 15-3 in season openers under Gunter, who is entering her 19th season at the school with a 347-186 (.651) record.
Friday’s game versus New Mexico marks the third time in four years LSU has opened the season on the road. LSU lost its 1997-98 opener at Houston, 66-59, and the Lady Tigers dropped the aforementioned decision to Texas Tech in Lubbock last season.”
LSU has been a solid road team over the past two seasons, posting a 13-8 mark in games away from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
“We know this weekend will be a challenge with New Mexico and then with either Duke or UCLA,” Gunter said. “But, we feel that playing this type of schedule early will make us better as the season goes on.”