BATON ROUGE – Jenna Deemer poured in a career-high 22 points, and the LSU women’s basketball team used a suffocating defensive effort to claim a 70-41 victory over Ole Miss on Thursday evening at the Maravich Center.
The Lady Tigers (11-9, 5-3 SEC) collected their sixth straight win over Ole Miss (14-7, 4-4 SEC) and have won 24 of the last 28 games in the series dating back to the 1995-96 season. The victory also enabled LSU to move into a three-way tie for fourth place in the SEC standings.
LSU’s defense limited the Rebels to a season-low 41 points. It also matched the sixth-lowest scoring output in Ole Miss history. The Rebels were 13-of-56 from the floor and misfired on 14 of their 16 attempts from three-point territory.
“The past couple of days, we’ve really focused in on becoming a more mentally tough team,” head coach Nikki Caldwell said. “We highlighted a few points of emphasis as far as what a player who has mental toughness looks like. They have confidence, they believe in themselves and they own their power. Furthermore, they’re someone who is unselfish. You can see the hard work and the intensity of our team though our defensive effort. Tonight was a game about being the tougher team. We were able to disrupt a very good Ole Miss team through our defensive pressure. That’s where it starts for us. We wanted to get back to those basics, and tonight that worked for us.”
For Deemer, she became the third LSU player to eclipse the 20-point barrier on the season. The New Orleans turned in a solid all-around effort and went 7-of-10 from the floor sparked by a trio of three-pointers. Deemer also was 5-of-6 at the foul line during her 17 minutes of action.
Daniele Ballard registered a complete performance with 11 points, seven steals, five assists and four rebounds. It marked the fourth consecutive game that Ballard has amassed double figures, and the seven steals equaled a career-high.
DaShawn Harden chipped in eight rebounds, four rebounds and two assists after she missed the Tennessee game due to injury. The Deemer-Harden duo ignited the Lady Tigers to a 40-9 edge in bench points.
LSU’s post play was led by Akilah Bethel, Sheila Boykin and Anne Pedersen. Boykin filled the box score with six points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. The four assists tied a career-high for Boykin. Bethel played at key role at the top of LSU’s full court press and was a major part in 30 turnovers for Ole Miss. She secured three points, four steals and three assists. Pedersen tacked on six points and four rebounds for the Lady Tigers.
As a team, LSU produced a 24-for-55 shooting effort and was 5-of-11 from beyond the three-point arc. The Lady Tigers were 17-of-26 at the charity stripe. The 22 steals were a season’s best for LSU, and the Lady Tigers dished out 17 assists on their 24 field goals.
“We talked about shot selection, and that has helped,” Caldwell said. “Scripting plays has helped and the play action that we want to run. But more importantly, it’s about feeding the player that is just on fire. Jenna was on fire tonight, and (Danielle) Ballard was finding her. Now Ballard’s assists, they go up to five. (Sheila) Boykin and (Akilah) Bethel, between the two of them, was seven assists. Everybody on our team pretty much had one. We are being unselfish. We are playing like a team, and your assist column going up is evident as a direct correlation. You are being givers to one another, and we were givers tonight.”
Ahead 7-6 at the 14:34 mark of the opening half, LSU put the clamps down on the Rebels. Ole Miss would go on to miss its next 16 shots over a 9:05 span which allowed the Lady Tigers to put together a 17-3 spurt.
Boykin knocked down back-to-back jumpers to kickstart the flurry. Harden and Ballard added jumpers of their own before Deemer canned a trey from the top of the key followed by a midrange jumper. Rhodes would complete the run with a traditional three-point play to make it 24-9 with 4:55 remaining.
Deemer completed a 12-point opening half with a layup in the closing seconds to give LSU a 35-19 halftime advantage. In total, Ole Miss was a frosty 6-of-36 shooting during the first half.
The Lady Tigers weren’t satisfied and ripped off eight of the first nine points. Ballard would bookend the spurt with transition layups. The latter was a crossover play that froze an Ole Miss defender inside the free throw line and put LSU up 43-20 with 16:00 left.
The Lady Tigers went onto to lead by as many as 33 points on three occasions and had nine players contribute points in the second half.
Ole Miss was led by Danielle Mccray’s 15 points, nine rebounds and four steals. The Lady Tigers limited Tia Faleru who averaged a double-double entering a game to five points on a 2-for-9 shooting clip and seven rebounds.
“We did not want to make the same mistake, if you will, that we made with Isabelle Harrison from Tennessee,” Caldwell said. “We wanted to really put a lot of emphasis on our guard play and disrupting the view of the basketball to her (Tia Faleru) in the post. When she would step short corner or step out, we were in denial. You can tell because Sheila (Boykin) got a couple of steals. I think Bethel got some steals on her as well. We were really trying to limit her touches. We also pressed more to take time off of the clock. Their play action, you’re going to get one or two reversals when there’s about 15 seconds on the shot clock. She either better get that touch on the first initial pass, or it may not come back around to her. We were very deliberate in making sure that we cut the shot clock in half.”
Next up, LSU squares off with Missouri as part of the SEC Network’s Monday Night Showcase. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. from the Maravich Center, and tickets are $1 as part of “Pack of the PMAC.” The game will be televised by the SEC Network along with www.WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.
The LSU Sports Radio Network will broadcast the game on its flagship station Talk 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge. Patrick Wright, the voice of the Lady Tiger, will call the action. The broadcast also will be available for Geaux Zone subscribers at www.LSUsports.net/live.
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.
LSU Women’s Basketball Postgame Quotes
LSU vs. Ole Miss – January 29, 2015
LSU HEAD COACH NIKKI CALDWELL
Opening statement
“The past couple of days, we’ve really focused in on becoming a more mentally tough team. We highlighted a few points of emphasis as far as what a player who has mental toughness looks like. They have confidence, they believe in themselves and they own their power. Furthermore, they’re someone who is unselfish. You can see the hard work and the intensity of our team though our defensive effort. Tonight was a game about being the tougher team. We were able to disrupt a very good Ole Miss team through our defensive pressure. That’s where it starts for us. We wanted to get back to those basics, and tonight that worked for us.”
On switching from the full court press to their zone defense
“It’s hard, but we practice it. We work it every day, and we drill it. The people that we have can play multiple positions for us so if Akilah (Bethel) was to get stuck at the top of our press, she knows how to play the top of our matchup (zone). When the ball is away from her, we know how to switch and rotate from the top back down to the bottom and for the bottom person to come back up top. We were very fortunate to have a versatile group because we’re not the biggest team so we have to have everybody. You’ll see Rina Hill on the back line of our zone. She’s one of the smallest players on our team, but that to me is an advantage for us because if you’re overloading us and have shooters we have guards that are able to close out a lot quicker and faster than our bigs.
On getting Jenna Deemer to shoot more…
“It is reverse phycology I guess. You’re being selfish. I think this is a player’s dream, and you’re being selfish if you don’t shoot it. I think every player would love to do that. In practice, she didn’t shoot it so we made her run. We’ve said, okay next time Jenna doesn’t shoot it, everybody else runs. Jenna, you sit there and watch. Is that adding a little pressure? Yes, because Jenna you need to shoot the basketball. Tonight, she was very aggressive with her play action. She didn’t settle for just a three ball. She was out in transition, she backdoored cut. She’s playing the game. Her teammates have an unbelievable amount of confidence in this freshman because they are looking her. They are trying to get her the basketball because she has proven to them that she is a viable option in our halfcourt offense. We’ve got other players that will run play action too. You’ll see us run things to Danielle (Ballard) and Ray (Raigyne Moncrief). But when Jenna comes in the game, we are looking for her.”
On having 17 assists during tonight’s game …
“We talked about this with them. We talked about shot selection, and that has helped. Scripting plays has helped and play action that we want to run. But more importantly, it’s about feeding the player that is just on fire. Jenna was on fire tonight, and (Danielle) Ballard was finding her. Now Ballard’s assists, they go up to five. (Sheila) Boykin and (Akilah) Bethel, between the two of them, was seven assists. Everybody on our team pretty much had one. We are being unselfish. We are playing like a team, and your assist column going up is evident as a direct correlation. You are being givers to one another, and we were givers tonight.”
On shutting down Ole Miss ….
“We did not want to make the same mistake, if you will, that we made with Isabelle Harrison from Tennessee. We wanted to really put a lot of emphasis on our guard play and disrupting the view of the basketball to her (Tia Faleru) in the post. When she would step short corner or step out, we were in denial. You can tell because Sheila (Boykin) got a couple of steals. I think Bethel got some steals on her as well. We were really trying to limit her touches. We also pressed more to take time off of the clock. Their play action, you’re going to get one or two reversals when there’s about 15 seconds on the shot clock. She either better get that touch on the first initial pass, or it may not come back around to her. We were very deliberate in making sure that we cut the shot clock in half.”
LSU GUARD JENNA DEEMER
On her shooting performance during tonight’s game…
“I think it started before the game. I prepared, got more shots up before [the game]. Yesterday, Coach (Caldwell) talked to me about feeling comfortable and not feeling complacent of what I’ve been doing. I needed that. That sparked me to be comfortable in taking my shot and knowing what I need to do out on the court.”
On the team’s confidence going into Monday’s game…
“It was a great win, but it’s over now so we have to get prepared for the next team.”
On her mindset during tonight’s game…
“I think my teammates gave me that spark. They looked for me. It’s energy, I feel their confidence in me. That just gives me more confidence to shoot the ball. When Coach (Caldwell) says “Light ’em up,” I feel like I can’t miss, and I’m going to light ’em up.”
On tonight’s game can be a springboard for her…
“I feel like I’m definitely capable of shooting the ball, but again I have to get away from getting complacent and comfortable in what I’m doing. I can say, as far as myself tonight, I don’t think that was my best.”
LSU GUARD DANIELLE BALLARD
On importance of defense…
“Defense is very important. Coach (Caldwell) always says that defense wins games, and that’s one thing that I am good at which is stealing balls. It happens with all the deflections and going and getting that ball – that is something I’m really good at.”
On the team’s defense compared to previous seasons…
“We’ve come to realize how important our defense is. We’re being more aggressive, and we’re talking on defense and communicating with each other. One of the key things is communication with each other, and the girls know that defense is very important being in the SEC with the great teams out there. You just want to go out there and lock the other team down.”
On the team’s defensive intensity…
“We basically work hard on defense every day in practice just preparing for teams. Obviously, our defense has gotten better. We’ve finally locked in on our defense. Coach (Caldwell) always tells us that our defense is getting better. It’s going to be hard for teams to play against us on the offensive end. That gives us a little motivation to go harder on the defensive end.”
Ole Miss Head Coach Matt Insell
Opening Statement…
“In this game, we did not play very well. All credit to LSU, they played really well tonight and took us out of some things. We got really stagnant against their zone and let our inability to make shots affect us. We have to learn from this. We have a young basketball team, and we knew going into this season that we would have really good days and some really bad days. We’ve had a lot more good days than we’ve had bad days when you’re talking about eight newcomers on the roster. They’re learning, they’re getting better each and every day and we’ll learn from this. We’ll go back to the drawing board and figure out the next one. LSU played really well tonight, a true credit to Nikki Caldwell and her staff for having their team ready to go.”
On Ole Miss’ lack of offensive production …
“We got every shot in the first half we wanted besides when we turned it over. We just didn’t make any shots. That’s all it boils down to. We haven’t had a lot of pop in the last three or four games. Luckily, we beat a good Georgia team without having a lot of pop but when you go on the road against a good LSU team, you’ve got to have some pop. We just didn’t make the shots. At halftime, I was really frustrated with our team because we had 36 shot attempts and were 0-for-12 from three. Every three-pointer was wide open, and we passed up three or four more. You’ve got kids that have been shooting the ball really well, and they’re just not making them. Their (LSU) defense had a little bit to do with that, but we’ve got to step up. We’ve got to have some toughness about us and step up and make some shots. We’ve got to continue to put our kids in good situations where they can make shots, and they’ve got to get real tough and start making them.”