BATON ROUGE – LSU women’s basketball coach Nikki Caldwell along with Akilah Bethel and Sheila Boykin met with the media Monday to preview the team’s upcoming game Thursday at No. 15 Mississippi State.
The Lady Tigers (8-8, 2-2 SEC) are in the midst of playing four consecutive SEC games against ranked opponents for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
Tip time for Thursday’s game is slated for 7 p.m., and the game will be carried online only by SEC Network Plus courtesy of http://www.watchespn.com/ and the Watch ESPN app.
The LSU Sports Radio Network will carry the game on its flagship station Talk 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge and inside the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net/live. Patrick Wright, the voice of the Lady Tigers, will call the action.
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.
Below is a transcript of Caldwell’s portion of the media session.
LSU Women’s Basketball Media Session
January 12, 2015
HEAD COACH NIKKI CALDWELL
Opening statement …
“Obviously, our team is growing because we were able to go to College Station and play the No. 9 team in the country and not get down in the first half. That has plagued us initially at the start of games, and this was a little different. We were able to have a seven point lead going into the half. I was very proud of our defensive effort. When you hold a team under 20 points in the half, you’ve done a nice job defensively. We just have to, again, be that team that can maintain that type of defensive intensity, and that pressure for 40 minutes. When we do become that team, we will be able to win more basketball games.”
On being able to keep the defensive intensity for 40 minutes …
“Well it’s about segments really. We try to break the game down into 10 rounds. Obviously, you’ve got five in the first half and five in the second half. In the first half, we were winning all of those segments. That’s why we were up by seven. In the second half, we had a lot of defensive breakdowns in our segments. We weren’t contesting the same way that we did in the first half. We weren’t boxing out and keeping them off the glass like we did in the first half. Really no one on our team is playing 40 minutes. We are just trying to get 20 to 25 quality minutes from a nucleus of players and then sub in and get 10 to 12 here and there. So, really it’s not 40 minutes of basketball that you have to play, it’s really those minutes that are given to you that you have to be efficient.”
On Sheila Boykin having a successful senior season …
“I think with Sheila, we’ve always known what Shelia was capable of doing. I think the setback of getting over Guillain-Barre syndrome; I think that really played a part in why she wasn’t able to get to the level that she’s at. She’s still not 100 percent, but you would never know that because she plays every possession and comes to practice and just works extremely hard. It’s amazing to see where she was less than two years ago – not able to walk, couldn’t stand and would fall. To see her now competing at this level, it’s like a miracle. We feed off of that. I use her as an example all the time when we aren’t playing hard. I say ‘Well if Boykin can get out there and defend hard, so can you’. She’s been such a positive influence on our team this season.”
On Danielle Ballard and what she brings to the team …
“I think Danielle Ballard is the type of player – you have an experienced guard, and you have someone who has put a team on her back. She has the capability of willing you to a win. She’s done that in hostile environments and here during the NCAA Tournament. You have a kid that really played extremely well and made her teammates look good. Her ability to rebound, I thought they were really doing a nice job, A&M was, of getting second and third offensive rebounds on us. I wanted to go with a bigger and stronger lineup on that back line. For the game, she had seven boards for us so that’s a plus. She also has allowed us to keep Ray (Raigyne Moncrief) and Day (DaShawn Harden) off the ball because Ray was struggling with nine turnovers so she is able to come in and relieve some of that pressure from our guard play. Again, she’s someone that we’ve counted on. When you say late game, who do you want the ball in their hands? The team, collectively as a group, will vote Danielle Ballard. That’s something that she’s just got to get back into the rhythm, and I take full responsibility too for that late game opportunity that we had. I’m seeing something different. I’m seeing two for one opportunity, push, get to the rack and get a quick two. Then, we come back and defend and have another possession. I had a time out. I easily could have called another timeout and made a play call there for the team. Those are things that are teaching tools as well because we haven’t had Ballard and I put her in that situation like we have had her all year. I’m very comfortable with Ballard having the ball in her hands.”
On the confidence that the team can gain from the Texas A&M game …
“What we did was we came back, and we watched every defensive possession in the game. I wanted them to see that there were two teams that performed Sunday. There was a team that held a very good Texas A&M team, when you look at (Courtney) Williams, (Courtney) Walker and (Jordan) Jones and what they are capable of, to 18 points. Then, there was the team that allowed 37 points in a half. Which one are we? Who do you want to become? If you stay this one that played the first half and you stay relentless with your effort and extra hustle plays, that’s how we won in the first half. They then, picked up their defensive intensity. They basically took our game plan, applied it and were able to be successful. I hope we can build on the 20 minutes we played and say we are good when we play this way. I hope when the other team rears its head—the team that gave up 37 points—that you remember how it felt losing against A&M and that you don’t want to have that happen again and that you will change it.”
On Mississippi State…
“I think Mississippi State is a hardnosed, defensive team. I think they are a team that has really adopted his (Vic Shaefer) style of play. He likes that get after you, one pass away, deny the basketball and eliminate easy cuts to the ball. I think defensively, they’ve become a very good team and buying into his system. Offensively, you have to make sure that we are aware of their guard play. (Victoria) Vivians can shoot the basketball from anywhere she touches it. Our awareness of where she is has got to be, you can’t lose sight of her because her range is out there. It’s near the half court line. We are really going to have to focus in on not allowing her to go off because she is very capable. Then, really disrupting their guard play and not over extending on many people. I think this is a game that is going to come down to which team is going to execute their game plan on the defensive end, who is going to take care of the basketball and give yourself an opportunity to score.”