CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The LSU women’s basketball team returns to action from its holiday break and will play its last two non-conference games of the 2014-15 season at the Miami Holiday Tournament over the next two days.
The Lady Tigers (5-5) begin the four-team event Sunday versus UNC Greensboro followed by a matchup with either host Miami or Florida A&M on Monday. Sunday’s tip time is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT from the BankUnited Center. Game times for Monday will be determined after Sunday’s action.
Both games will be carried by the LSU Sports Radio Network on its flagship station Talk 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge. The broadcast featuring Patrick Wright, the voice of the Tigers, also will be available for Geaux Zone subscribers at www.LSUsports.net/live.
UNC Greenboro (5-7) has dropped its last five decisions away from home. The Spartans are led by Jarae Savage’s 13.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Lucy Mason also has registered 13.6 points and 3.7 assists per game, while Shanese Harris has amassed 10.1 points per game. Harris is coming off a 20-point effort during UNCG’s victory over Livingstone.
“I would like to see 40 minutes of intense basketball,” head coach Nikki Caldwell said. “We’ve put together 30 minute games, but we’ve had those segments whether it’s at the start of the game or a segment in the second half where we’ve allowed our opponents to run away from us. I want us to play 40 minutes of quality basketball where we really establish defensive pressure and rebound the basketball. More importantly, we have to make our layups, those easy baskets around the paint and our free throws.”
LSU has won three of its last four games where the Lady Tigers have racked up 75.3 points per game and won by a margin of 26.7 points during the three victories. Last time out, LSU garnered a season’s best 78 points at UC Santa Barbara after the Lady Tigers implemented a new platoon system by dividing their 10 available players into Purple and Gold units.
Raigyne Moncrief, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida native, is the only player to start in all 10 games for the Lady Tigers. She has secured 10.4 points per game coupled with a team-leading 7.7 rebounds per game which are tops among SEC guards and ninth overall. Moncrief has tallied 10-plus points on six occasions.
DaShawn Harden has posted a team-leading 10.9 points and 2.6 steals per game. She has ripped off double figures in six consecutive games and upped her mark to 14.0 points per game over the six-game stretch. Harden has buried 16 of her 42 field goals from beyond the three-point arc.
A pair of freshmen, Jenna Deemer and Stephanie Amichia, earned their first career starts at UC Santa Barbara. Deemer contributed 13 points highlighted by a trio of three-pointers and equaled a career-high with four steals. It was the third time that Deemer poured in double figures. Amichia came away with six points and five rebounds during the UCSB game. She has knocked down 50 percent of her field goals on the season.
Akilah Bethel has led LSU’s post players with 8.2 points per game. She has picked up her board play as of late with 7.7 rebounds per game over her last three outings. Sheila Boykin has turned in 7.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. She has scored in double figures in three straight games and four of her last five appearances. Ann Jones has chipped in 4.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. She has come off the bench in three of LSU’s last four games and added eight points at UC Santa Barbara.
Rina Hill returned to LSU’s starting lineup at UC Santa Barbara where she has dialed up 4.7 points and 2.0 rebounds per game over her last four games. Anne Pedersen has recorded a balanced 6.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. She has reached double figures three times. Jasmine Rhodes equaled career-highs with four steals and three assists during the UCSB game.
“You definitely want consistency out of your players, and that starts in practice with execution so it gets a lot easier when you get to the game,” Caldwell said. “Obviously, we have tremendous guard play led by DaShawn Harden and Raigyne Moncrief. The thing that we’ve been stressing with those two is making your teammates shine and making someone else look good because those two have the ball in their hands a lot. When it’s time for you to take over or change the complexion, then do so. We have to get everyone involved by getting easy looks to our post game and easy looks to our spot up shooters. By playing together as a team, we’ll be more productive. We’ll score more points and the cohesion among the team will be better. It makes the game a lot easier when you play that way.”
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.