BATON ROUGE — LSU’s Lady Tigers basketball team, fresh off the program’s first trip to the NCAA Final Four, was tabbed by Sports Illustrated as the No. 2 team in an early projection for the 2004-05 season.
LSU posted a 27-8 record in 2003-04 and finished No. 3 in the nation in the coaches poll after falling to Tennessee in the national semifinal game in New Orleans. The Lady Tigers return all but one senior, Doneeka Hodges, who was taken in the second round of the WNBA Draft. Kodak All-American Seimone Augustus and point guard Temeka Johnson lead the list of returning players for newly appointed head coach Pokey Chatman.
Sports Illustrated listed Tennessee at No. 1 in their list of teams in their “Early projection of teams with the best shot at reaching next year’s women’s Final Four in Indianapolis.” The 2004 National Champion UConn Huskies followed LSU at No. 3, while Southeastern Conference foe Georgia was No. 4 followed by Texas, Duke, Minnesota, Baylor, Rutgers and Ohio State.