BATON ROUGE, La. – The Lady Tiger basketball team defeated Union University, 88-57, in Wednesday evening’s exhibition matchup at the Maravich Center.
The Lady Tigers outscored Union, 41-21, in the second half, and held Union without a basket for 3:40 in the fourth quarter en route to the victory.
Five Lady Tigers scored in double digits, led by Ayana Mitchell‘s 18 points off 7-of-12 shooting from the field and a 4-of-8 effort from the charity stripe. Mitchell also hauled in 10 rebounds for one of the team’s two double-double performances. Alexis Hyder logged a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Hyder also led the team in assists with six and in blocked shots with two. Mitchell and Hyder logged four steals apiece.
“I think that the year was long, and it was also good for me, so it’s kind of exciting to finally get to play with your teammates,” Hyder said. “It’s important that we allow ourselves to play our own game and make sure we stay focused on who we are.”
Jenna Deemer dropped in five of the team’s seven treys, scoring 15 points off a 5-of-7 shooting effort from behind the arc. Also scoring in double-digits for the Lady Tigers were Shanice Norton with 12 points and Rina Hill with 10 points.
The Lady Tigers outrebounded Union 46-22, posting 31 defensive rebounds in the win. LSU shot 34-of-63 from the field and 13-of-22 from the free throw line.
“I’m excited to have gotten to play a game. I know that our team has been chomping at the bits to be able to get out there and compete and we did a lot of good things tonight,” head coach Nikki Fargas said. “Union, in the first half, really showed defensively where we have to get better and that’s guarding the three-point line. Giving up 21 points in the first half is not a defensive goal. But again, I’m extremely proud of our team for bouncing back in the second half and making defensive priority.”
Jada Smith, Kelsey Risner and Chelsea Bodiford all chipped in 12 points to lead Union’s scoring efforts. Union was 23-of-56 from the field, including a 10-of-30 effort from behind the arc. Union was 1-of-6 from the free throw line. Fredi Nielsen led Union in rebounding, hauling in seven boards.
LSU led 25-18 after the first quarter behind a 9-of-22 effort from the field and a 6-of-9 mark from the free throw line. Union was 7-of-11 from the field; 1-of-6 from the charity stripe in the first quarter.
The Lady Tigers took a double-digit lead for the first time in the first half with 3:39 left in the second quarter behind a three pointer by Deemer for a 38-28 LSU advantage. Union answered with a trey by Bodiford to cut the LSU lead to seven. Deemer hit two more treys and Norton added a three pointer in the final two minutes of the second quarter to send LSU to the locker room with a 47-36 lead at the half.
LSU used a 12-2 run to open the third quarter, going up by as many as 21 points with 5:33 remaining in the third quarter. Mitchell scored 11 of the team’s 21 points in the third quarter off 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 shooting from the free throw line. The Lady Tigers closed out the third period with a 21-point lead, 68-47, following a Deemer trey with 47 seconds remaining.
The Lady Tigers open the regular season on the road on Friday, November 13, against Wake Forest at 4 p.m. CT in Winston-Salem, N.C. The game will be carried by ESPN3 and available on WatchESPN.
The LSU Sports Radio Network will broadcast 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.
For all of the latest news and information on Lady Tiger basketball, visit www.LSUsports.net.womensbasketball. Fans also can 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
Union vs. LSU – November 4, 2015
Head Coach Nikki Fargas
Opening Statement …
“I’m excited to have gotten to play a game. I know that our team has been chomping at the bit to be able to get out there and compete and we did a lot of good things tonight. Union, in the first half, really showed defensively where we have to get better and that’s guarding the 3-point line. Giving up 21 points in the first half is not a defensive goal. But again, I’m extremely proud of our team for bouncing back in the second half and making defensive priority. This game is going to be won on the defensive end. We stepped up and some different players step up at different times and made critical baskets for us and helped push this game out of reach. I’m extremely pleased with the play of our first-years, our newcomers Ayana Mitchell and Shanice Norton as freshman and transfer Alexis Hyder. They’ve really done a nice job with embracing what our philosophy is and our returning players, without Raigyne Moncrief, have stepped up in that role in taking on new responsibility as well.”
On Shanice Norton …
“Norton is an aggressive guard. She has this no fear in her and is someone that plays extremely hard. When she sees a gap she’ll take it and was able to get herself to the free-throw line, not only tonight, but in our closed scrimmage on Saturday. She’s player that defensively gives a team a challenge because there is something about her that she can become a defensive stopper for us. She’s athletic enough were she can rebound the basketball, and like I said, she’s a player that defensively has an opportunity to watch in play and we’ve done separate groups were she has been able to work with Raigyne Moncreif and Rina Hill. Those are two explosive guards and she’s keeping up right there with them.”
On LSU’s defense …
“We are going to have to really extend our defensive scheme and not just play a half-court defense. We are going to have to pick up and try to disrupt the timing of the basketball by not allowing teams to have a full shot clock to run their action. We are going to have to run a different matchup. When you put size at the top of our zone and at the top of our press, I felt as though it gave Union some problems. We were able to trap out of it and we were able to force them into turnovers and we’ve got to be able to change up our man-to-man defense. We did some good things but in isolation plays I felt our help line defense could have been better because all five people have got to be responsible for guarding the basketball.
On getting back out on the court after the offseason
“It’s about time. I think that the year was long, and it was also good for me, so it’s kind of exciting to finally get to play with your teammates. You see so much when you’re sitting out, so I was happy about that.”
On the mindset and goals coming into this game…
“(Our goals were) taking care of the ball, getting on the glass and controlling the tempo of the game. It’s important that we allow ourselves to play our own game and make sure we stay focused on who we are. Sometimes when you play against other teams you lose your identity because you’re playing to their level. You have to make sure you stay true to yourself, and I think that’s a big part of us. Be a transition team-stick to that. Get defensive stops-stick to that. Get on the glass-stick to that.”
On the play of Shanice Norton
“Being a freshman coming in, I’m so excited to know that she is going to be with me for the next four years. She’s a go-getter. She works hard and brings a lot of energy to the team. She definitely set the tempo for us when we needed it the most. I feel like she will be an impact player for all of us.”
On what the team will work on in the upcoming week.
“Defense. I know that’s repetitive and we keep saying it, but that’s something that we definitely have to get better at. If we have to go the whole two hours of practice doing defense, that’s what we’re going to do. We definitely have to get better before these nine days are up.”