Women’s Basketball Hosts Vanderbilt in Last Home Game of Season
BATON ROUGE – The LSU women’s basketball team will host Vanderbilt in the final regular season game at the PMAC this year on Thursday, February 27 at 6:30 p.m. CT. LSU is 18-8 overall and 8-6 in SEC play, while Vanderbilt is 13-14 overall and 3-11 in conference action.
It is ‘Senior’ Night at the PMAC. Fans aged 55 and older get in free to the game. There will also be mystery giveaways during the game, while game sponsor Community Coffee will be handing out free K-cups as fans enter the PMAC. The 2020 NCAA Championship Trophy will also be on display with a chance for fans to win tickets to the 2020 Women’s Final Four in New Orleans through the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation.
Lyn Rollins and Garrett Walvoord will call the game on Thursday for the SEC Network Plus. Fans can also watch the game on the ESPN app. Patrick Wright will call the game on the LSU Sports Radio Network. Wright is in his 30th season as the “Voice of the Lady Tigers” and is joined on home broadcasts by Jeff Palermo. Fans can listen on 107.3 FM and audio broadcasts are available online at LSUSports.net/live. Live stats will be available at LSUsports.net.
LSU Update
LSU lost to Georgia at the PMAC on February 23, 73-56. Junior Awa Trasi led the team with 13 points, while redshirt junior Faustine Aifuwa scored 12 points and had a team-leading six rebounds. Senior Jaelyn Richard-Harris also scored double-digits with 10 points and was 4-of-6 from the field. Junior Khayla Pointer contributed seven points and six assists.
Pointer leads the squad from the point with 14.8 points and 4.7 assists per game. She has one of the best free throw shooting percentages on the squad at 70.7 and the most steals with 59.
Aifuwa is having a solid season in the paint for LSU. Aifuwa is second on the team among active players with 10.6 points per game. She is sporting a 47.6 field goal percentage to go along with 8.0 rebounds per game and 45 blocked shots.
LSU continues its solid play on defense, having held opponents to 50 points or under five times and 15 opponents at 60 or under so far this season and winning the battle of the boards in 21 games played.
With the loss of Mitchell, LSU head coach Nikki Fargas counts on her bench to step up and fill the void with several players taking on different roles. Trasi moved into the starting slot and stretches LSU’s offense with her long-range shooting. Several players, including junior Rakell Spencer and freshman Tiara Young, come off the bench to provide a defensive spark against opponents’ top player.
LSU has five Top-25 wins on the season. It is the most wins against ranked teams for the Tigers since the 2012-13 season when LSU went 6-6 against Top-25 teams.
Fargas is in her ninth season at LSU (166-114) and 12th overall (238-140). In 26 seasons as a student-athlete, graduate assistant and collegiate coach, Fargas is 642-216.
The Opponent – Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt is currently on a 4-game losing streak, so both teams will be working to stop a late-season skid. The Commodores have been plagued with several season-ending injuries throughout the year, including sophomore Brinae Alexander who was their leading scorer at the time of her Achilles injury.
Freshman forward Koi Love leads the team with 13.6 points per game, while Mariella Fasoula averages 13.0 points per game. Chelsie Hall leads the team with 98 assists and scores 10.5 points per game.
Head coach Stephanie White was named Vanderbilt’s fifth head coach in program history in May 2016. Vanderbilt leads the series 26-22.
Kay Yow Challenge
The LSU women’s basketball, men’s basketball and gymnastics teams are uniting with the Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center to raise $100,000 for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The fundraising program will be part of the annual Play4Kay campaign, the largest fundraising initiative of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
Funds will be raised through a pledge program. Both basketball teams are asking fans to make a pledge for every free throw made at each of their games in the month of February. Gymnastics fans can make a pledge for every team event with a score of 49.00 or higher during their cancer awareness meets on January 17 vs. Auburn and February 16 vs. Kentucky. Fans can also make as a flat donation through the same link.
Fans can go to LSUsports.net/KayYowChallenge to pledge a donation. When the $100,000 goal is reached, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund will forward a $150,000 grant to the Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center. The monies raised will be returned to the Baton Rouge community to benefit the underserved population with cancer services in Baton Rouge and surrounding parishes.
The vision of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund is to be the premier non-profit organization dedicated to supporting innovative ways of fighting ALL cancers affecting women and providing support through giving strength, courage, and hope.
Up Next
The Tigers will finish the regular season on Sunday, March 1, at Arkansas. Game time is set for 1:10 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network Plus.
Fans can purchase tickets for the Vanderbilt game at LSUtix.net.
Follow Along on Social Media
Follow updates on LSU women’s basketball on Twitter and Instagram at @LSUwbkb or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lsuwbkb.
Geaux Clear at the PMAC
Fans are reminded that the Geaux Clear Policy will be in effect for all LSU women’s basketball home games. Diaper bags must be clear and no larger than 12″ x 6″ x 12″. Backpacks, including drawstring/synch bags are strictly prohibited.
Fans with medically-necessary items will be allowed to enter the PMAC following a more thorough search at the designated inspection points. The lower level inspection will take place at the southeast corner entrance near the elevator and upper level inspection is available at the South concourse near the Ticket Office.
For other updates, information is available on LSUSports.net.