SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The LSU women’s basketball team looks to return to the win column before the holiday break and wraps up its two-game California road trip Friday at UC Santa Barbara.
Tip time is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CT from the Thunderdome, and the game will not carried on television. The LSU Sports Radio Network will carry the game on its flagship station Talk 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge. The broadcast featuring Patrick Wright, the voice of the Lady Tigers, also will be available for Geaux Zone subscribers at www.LSUsports.net/live.
Last time out, the Lady Tigers (4-5) nearly overcame an early 20-point deficit during the first half before dropping a 59-44 decision at Long Beach State. LSU rallied back to within 43-39 at the 6:49 mark, but the 49ers put together 16 of the final 21 points to pick up the 15-point win.
UC Santa Barbara (0-9) is being led by Jemerigbe Onome’s 8.6 points and 3.3 assists per game. Last time out, Onome garnered a 12-point effort during UCSB’s 66-44 loss to Pepperdine. Jasmine Ware has tallied 8.1 points per game followed by Clair Watkins’s balanced 8.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game for the Gauchos. UCSB’s nine losses have come by an average of 16.7 points per contest.
“This team has to buy in that it’s a 40-minute game,” head coach Nikki Caldwell said. “We have shown that we can play 20-to-30 minutes here and there. If we can put in the energy and the intensity levels for us to become a better team for 40 minutes, the outcome is going to be different. Holding a team like Long Beach State to 44 points after the spurt that they had at the beginning of the game, that’s a good defensive effort for 35 minutes of basketball. Offensively, we’ve struggled. That’s an area where we as coaches are going to watch and be able to see where we can be better on the offensive end. We have to see what play action we could be running differently and which players need to get more shot attempts. We need to get better on the offensive end and be ready to play UC Santa Barbara.”
Sheila Boykin has collected consecutive double-doubles which include 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in-front of her hometown crowd at Long Beach State. Over her last five outings, Boykin has upped her averages to 9.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. She has amassed 3.6 of her 7.2 rebounds per game on the offensive end which ranks seventh in the SEC.
DaShawn Harden and Raigyne Moncrief have paced LSU’s offensive attack with 10.7 and 10.4 points per game, respectively. Harden has boosted her mark to 14.2 points per game and secured double figures in five straight games. Moncrief has hauled down 7.8 rebounds per game which is tops among SEC guards and eighth overall. On the defensive end, the duo has teamed up for 45 steals. Harden’s 2.7 steals per game are fifth followed by Moncrief’s 2.3 steals per game in sixth place on the SEC leaderboard.
Akilah Bethel has provided 8.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game over her nine starts on the interior. She nearly notched with her first career double-double and turned in nine points coupled with a career-high nine rebounds at Long Beach State.
Anne Pedersen has chipped in 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. She has earned nine of her 12 career starts this season. She also has tallied three of her four 10-plus point performances in 2014-15, most recently with 10 points during the Southeastern Louisiana game.
Off the bench, Jenna Deemer has added 4.7 points per game. Her 35.0 shooting clip from three-point territory paces the Lady Tigers. Rina Hill has provided a spark coming off the bench with 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game over her last three appearances, while Jasmine Rhodes has come away with 1.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.
Stephanie Amichia and Ann Jones have been valuable contributors to LSU’s post play. Jones has pumped in 4.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game whereas Amichia has hit on 50 percent of her field goals en route to 3.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Alliyah Fareo has missed LSU’s last two games due to injury.
Season tickets are on sale for $75 online at http://www.LSUtix.net/. The LSU Athletics Ticket Office can be reached at (800) 960-8587 or (225) 578-2184 and is located on the first floor of the Moran Family Center for Athletics Administration Building. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
For all of the latest news and information on Lady Tiger basketball, visit www.LSUsports.net/womensbasketball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/LSUwbkb, @lsuwbkb and @NikkiCaldwell on Twitter, @LSUwbkb and @LSUNikkiCaldwell on Instagram.