BATON ROUGE – LSU women’s basketball coach Nikki Caldwell along with Raigyne Moncrief and Jasmine Rhodes met with the media Tuesday to preview the team’s upcoming game Thursday at No. 5 Tennessee.
The Lady Tigers (10-8, 4-2 SEC) have collected consecutive victories over Top 15 competition, most recently an 84-79 win over No. 10 Kentucky.
Tip time for Thursday’s game is slated for 6 p.m. CT from Thompson-Boling Arena, and the game will be televised by the SEC Network. The telecast also will be available courtesy ofhttp://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, 20 2015
HEAD COACH NIKKI CALDWELL
Opening statement …
“In playing Tennessee, obviously there is a personal feeling that I have towards that program with the relationship I have, not only with the staff but obviously Coach Summitt. What she has meant, not only to many of us as former players, but just what she has meant to the women’s game. Our team, we are playing extremely hard, and we are playing this game with togetherness and unity. I know that Coach Summitt is going to be there watching in the stands, and I know that she’s going to feel proud of the work that we are doing here at LSU. It’s going to be a hard fought game, like any SEC opponent. There is going to be certain keys to the game. One of them, obviously, is controlling the boards. We’ve got to raise our level of toughness on the boards to be able to play with a team like Tennessee who gets all over the offensive glass and play as though we can eliminate some of those second and third opportunities that they get. That will disrupt some of their offensive execution. Transition defense is going to be a key as well. If we can really hone in on those two areas, we can walk away from that game with a victory.”
On last year’s game against Tennessee …
“Last year, I thought our spacing was really good from an offensive standpoint. We were able to get into the lane. We had some nice dribble penetration to kick out. Players made plays. I thought Danielle Ballard did a nice job of just really being aggressive and bringing that type of personality to Thompson-Boling Arena. As a competitor, it’s going to be loud in there. It’s going to be all these screaming fans for them. The best way that you can silence them is to play harder, play smarter and to really execute your game plan. We did just that. We did a nice job of really separating ourselves late in the second half. I thought their pressure towards the end of the game really got to us and caused us to turn the ball over, which made the game even tighter, but we’ve grown from the experience so much. We’ve been in tough environments this season. It was not easy to play at Mississippi State. That was a good test of us as of recent. Although we fell short of coming away a victory, Texas A&M was another (tough) environment. We’ve been tested, and we are ready.”
On the reason for success against Kentucky …
“This team is believing. They are believing one another, and that’s been the turning point for our team. We are believing in our defense, and we are doing a nice job of disrupting our opponents. When you are able to turn Kentucky over 26 times in a basketball game, you are doing something right because that’s usually what we do to their opponents. We were able to capitalize on those turnovers, and we are understanding the way that LSU basketball is to be played. We are going to have to defend the basketball 94 feet, really get after you and hustle plays. Rina Hill standing in there taking charges, Sheila Boykin, those are the types of plays that give you that momentum to get your run. We were able to make a run late in the second half and to help solidify the victory.”
On how the team avoids having an emotion letdown …
“You teach your team that at 12:01 a.m., obviously it’s a new day. It’s a new opportunity coming up on Thursday. You teach your team to live in the moment and not look past what is in front of you today. Today, we need to come out and watch film and have a great practice. Tomorrow after classes, get on the plane and get out and have a great workout at Tennessee. So it’s about just staying in the moment. This team, what was interesting after the Kentucky win, in the locker room; yes we were thrilled and happy that we won. We also had this even temperament about themselves as though they belonged. That was something that I hadn’t seen in this group. I recognized it from last year, but we hadn’t had that this year. That’s a positive, when you are talking about how to continue to maintain an even level of emotions. I felt as though we handled the success of the Kentucky game just as that.”
On Danielle Ballard‘s contribution
“I think just her presence on the floor exudes confidence for our team whether she’s in the best shape – she’s not even in her best shape right now because they know the road that Danielle (Ballard) has taken and traveled to get back to the team. There’s a deeper appreciation. I know (Raigyne) Moncrief is thrilled to have her back for more reasons than one but obviously to carry the burden of carrying the team. Ballard gives us that. Her being able to practice and still be around the team also kept her engaged with the team. Her teammates have done a tremendous job without her. They stayed the course. Although our record didn’t reflect that, you could see the growth that was happening within our team. We’re going to continue grow. We’re a young team, and it’s just great to have everybody back.”
On the feelings involved in playing Tennessee …
“I think the feeling with playing Tennessee, for me personally, and I’ve shared this with the team is that I carry Coach Summitt in everything that I do. I’m an extension of her in some regards and how I’m teaching our kids and the principles that I live by. On the very first day of practice, you get The Definite Dozen. Vicariously, if you want to do the Kevin Bacon six degrees (of separation), you are connected to her too in some degree. Plus you look at my staff, Tasha Butts was a former player. Tony Perotti was a practice player under Coach Summitt. Michael Scruggs was a practice player under Coach Summitt, so there is a connection there. It’s special because I know that I would not be sitting here today without Coach Summitt being who she is and what she’s done for me. There’s a different level of respect that I have for Coach Summitt and what she has meant to me. Not that other coaches haven’t influenced me, but she definitely has embedded a lot in me. That’s what playing at Tennessee is really about. It’s more so for me as a former player and assistant under Coach Summitt, we want to carry her legacy on but we also want to make sure that we’re doing things the right way and that she’s proud of us. It’s more, if you will, like a mother-daughter relationship for me with Coach Summitt. Now that she’s gone, I have the upmost respect for Holly Warlick and her staff. When Pat was there, I still wanted to beat her. She’s not there, and I still want to beat them. It doesn’t change the competitive spirit that both programs share. It’s just that there’s a different relationship formed a long time ago, years ago, that allows me to speak freely about the coach and the program.”
On the strengths of Tennessee and the challenges for Thursday’s game…
“Their strength is their ability to rebound the basketball. We’re going to have to step our level of toughness up because that’s all board play is about. It’s about toughness. Our ability to keep people in front of us, we’re going to have to do that because they’re really looking to get the ball inside whether it’s off the dribble drive and an extra pass. If we can control or really eliminate those second and third opportunities, that’s going to be an advantage for us. If they do get the offensive rebound, and this has happened to us, we need to still be tougher defending it because the ball still has not gone in. I think our second effort to defend the offensive rebound has got to be there. They’re a team that is led by Ariel Massengale, and she’s done a phenomenal job of shooting the basketball from deep. So awareness of hot hand shooters, we’ve got to know and be there on the catch. At the same time, our strengths have been our ability to defend people. We’ve kept our opponents in the 50s. If we can get back to that and stay true to our defensive philosophy, that’s going to be key for us.