COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The LSU women’s basketball team will meet up with its second Top 10 opponent over an eight-day stretch as the Lady Tigers take on No. 9 Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon to open up its home-and-home series with the Aggies for the 2014-15 season.
Tipoff is slated for 12 p.m. CT from Reed Arena, and the game will be televised by ESPNU. The telecast also will be carried on www.WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. Melissa Lee and Gail Goestenkors will serve as the broadcast team.
The LSU Sports Radio 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.
LSU (8-7, 2-1 SEC) and Texas A&M (14-3, 2-1 SEC) head into Sunday’s action tied for fifth place in the SEC standings. Last time out, the Lady Tigers put together a 26-6 spurt over the final 10 minutes en route to a 64-44 victory over Vanderbilt. Texas A&M was handed an 81-58 setback at No. 7 Tennessee. A key to LSU’s win was a 29-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
LSU holds an 8-7 series edge over the Aggies, but Texas A&M has won three of the last four meetings as SEC rivals over the last two seasons. The Aggies collected a pair of victories last season which included a 72-67 decision over LSU at Reed Arena.
Texas A&M returned 83 percent of its scoring, 81 percent of its rebounds and 96 percent of its assists from last season’s team that qualified for the NCAA Elite 8. The Aggies have been ranked inside the nation’s Top 10 all season long getting as high as No. 4 in the polls.
Courtney Walker and Courtney Williams spearhead the Aggie attack. Walker has racked up 15.2 points per game which is good enough for fourth place in the SEC rankings. She is coming off a 25-point performance at Tennessee. Williams has amassed 15-plus points in five of her last outings highlighted by a season’s best 22 points during A&M’s victory over Vanderbilt on January 2.
Jordan Jones has turned in 9.3 points and 6.8 assists per game followed by Achiri Ade’s 5.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Jones’ 6.8 assists per game not only top the SEC but are ranked eighth nationally. It was Ade who provided the game-winning putback layup for the Aggies during their 52-50 win at Arkansas on January 4.
“Walker and Williams are a great combination,” head coach Nikki Caldwell said. “You’ve got to add Jones into the mix because she does a nice job of being unselfish and finding her teammates. Walker is an explosive player with range. She’s able to do a lot of different things with the basketball. The versatility of Williams allows her to play not only on the perimeter, but she can play the four spot which is a mismatch for a lot of teams. She’s a big who can extend you defensively whose not in one spot on the floor, she’s everywhere.”
DaShawn Harden and Raigyne Moncrief have turned in a team-leading nine double figure efforts to fuel LSU’s offense. The duo also ranks fourth and sixth, respectively, in steals per game.
Harden has connected on 50 percent of her field goal attempts and upped her scoring mark to 16.7 points per game which ranks third in SEC play. She pumped in 18 points on 7-of-11 from the floor during the Vanderbilt game.
Moncrief is one of five SEC players to rank among the league’s top 15 in three of the five major statistical categories (points, rebounds, steals, assists, blocks per game). She nearly secured her third double-double of the season with 13 points and nine rebounds during the Vanderbilt game. All 13 of Moncrief’s points came during the second half versus Vanderbilt.
LSU’s bench play has been headed by Jenna Deemer and Stephanie Amichia, a pair of freshmen. Over her six outings, Deemer has garnered 10.5 points per game on 24-of-46 shooting with 13 of her 24 field goals coming from beyond the three-point arc. Amichia has knocked down 51.2 percent from the floor. She has nearly doubled her averages to 5.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in SEC action.
Anne Pedersen has chipped in 8.0 points per game during LSU’s first three SEC games and has started 11 of 15 games on the season. Danielle Ballard, an All-SEC Preseason First-Team selection, made her season debut versus Vanderbilt where she tallied four points and two steals in 11 minutes of action.
From the point guard position, Rina Hill matched a career-high four assists during the Vanderbilt game. Jasmine Rhodes has made 14 of her 15 appearances off the bench. She has contributed 1.9 points and 1.6 rebounds per game.
On the interior, Sheila Boykin has started LSU’s last nine games. She has worked her way to 7.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Boykin has picked up 3.4 of her 6.7 rebounds on the offensive end which is eighth on the SEC leaderboard.
Akilah Bethel has provided a spark to the post play off the bench during LSU’s last two games. She registered nine points on 4-of-5 from the floor against Vanderbilt. For the season, Bethel has come away with 6.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
“I think the key for tomorrow’s game will be the team that comes into the game with a great amount of focus,” Caldwell said. “The team that comes out and executes what it’s supposed to do on the defensive end, and the team that wants to finish off its defense by controlling the boards will be successful. They’re a very good transition game, and they have players who can get out quickly. This game is always 100 percent about the team that plays with the most heart. The team that brings energy and emotion to the game will be successful.”
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.