2009-10 Schedule

A day after LSU’s 62-52 loss to Louisville in the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, LSU head coach Van Chancellor and his staff were already looking forward to the 2009-10 season. As they wiped the slate clean, one thing was for certain, the 2008-09 Lady Tigers laid the foundation for an upcoming season full of promise.

Chancellor and his staff took six true freshmen and five new starters and turned them into a squad that had the look of previous LSU postseason teams. A resilient attitude and toughness on the defensive end of the floor, the Lady Tigers reached the NCAA Tournament for the 11th straight season and shared second place in the final Southeastern Conference standings. Today, the bulk of that team returns with a year of experience and a summer of improvement. 

“We felt we were the youngest team in the country last year, and we are still a young basketball team,” Chancellor said. “I am excited about this team. I like the attitude and work ethic of this team and like the direction of where we can go. I am looking forward to this year because we have depth and learned a lot from last year.”

Chancellor, who enters his third season at LSU, boasts nine letterwinners and four returning starters. The Lady Tigers only lost forward Kristen Morris from last year’s team, but they welcome five newcomers, including three players who already have collegiate experience.

No team in the league has been as dominant defensively as the Lady Tigers have the past five seasons. LSU held opponents to 53.5 points per contest and limited teams to 50 points or less 14 times during the 2008-09 season. While defense has been the cornerstone, Chancellor is seeking an improvement on offense.

“There is no doubt in my mind, we will be a strong defensive basketball team again,” Chancellor said. “I am looking forward to our improvement on offense. I think we have made significant strides on that end of the floor.”

Backcourt

All things go with senior guard Allison Hightower, who is up for every 2010 National Player of the Year award. Arguably the most valuable player to any team in the SEC a season ago, Hightower continues to fine tune her game with hard work and leadership.

Hightower led LSU in six categories as a junior, averaging 14.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per contest. A 2009 All-SEC selection and State Farm Honorable Mention All-American, the Arlington, Texas, native is closing in on the 1,000-point mark for her career as she sits at 943 points.

“Allison Hightower is one of the 10 best players in the country without question,” Chancellor said. “She does it by hard work and dedication. She’s always trying to get better in every facet of her game. This spring and summer, she worked really hard on her offensive game. I expect her to have another great year.”

Defensively, there might not be a better player in the nation than Hightower. She heads into her senior season as the school’s all-time career leader in blocks by a guard with 76. She led all SEC guards in blocked shots last season and was the only guard in the league to rank in the top 10 in both blocks and steals.

Latear Eason returns for her junior season at point guard. Eason was a catalyst in the Lady Tigers’ six-game winning streak down the stretch with her play. She averaged 2.1 assists per game and committed very few turnovers. The Lady Tigers also return sophomore Destini Hughes and welcome junior college transfer Taylor Booze.

Booze, a junior, played for one season at Oklahoma State and posted 10.1 points as a sophomore at Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College. Two veteran guards were key for LSU last season – Andrea Kelly and Katherine Graham. Graham missed three games her sophomore year and her loss was noticeable. She was a constant on defense by disrupting the flow of opposing offenses. Graham was second on the team in rebounds per game with 5.0 and 10th in the SEC in defensive boards.

Kelly was LSU’s top shooter from the perimeter. The returning senior and co-captain, fired 34-of-84 for 40.5 percent from beyond the arc. That percentage ranked as the eighth-best mark in single-season school history. The Lady Tigers’ depth on the perimeter has drastically been increased with the addition of freshmen Adrienne Webb and Bianca Lutley and Southern Miss transfer Erica Williams.

Williams sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules but she has proven to be one of LSU’s top shooters this offseason. Webb comes to LSU as the 2009 Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year after scoring 17.1 points per game as a senior at Sparkman High School. Lutley was ranked as the No. 25 overall player in America at American Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla.

Frontcourt

The departure of Kristen Morris opens up a new starting spot at the post. Chancellor will rely heavily upon LaSondra Barrett, the 2009 SEC Co-Freshman of the Year. Barrett turned in one of the most prolific freshman seasons in school history and then helped lead the United States to a gold medal at the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championships in Thailand.

Barrett led the Lady Tigers in rebounds per game with a 5.7 average while ranking second on the squad in points with 11.4 per contest. Her most memorable game was her first SEC start at Arkansas when she buried 27 points, an LSU SEC true freshman record, achieving something not even Seimone Augustus or Sylvia Fowles had done.

Barrett carries high expectations into 2009-10 after her freshman campaign. She seeks to be more aggressive around the basket, but she will have help from others as well. Sophomore Courtney Jones, who underwent successful arthroscopic knee surgery immediately following the season, is a very talented player who ranked second on the squad in offensive boards with 43. 

Defensively, Taylor Turnbow was one of the top freshman shot blockers in the SEC a year ago. She heads into her sophomore season after ranking 12th in that category by averaging 1.0 per game in 12.6 minutes. Sophomore forward Swayze Black has turned in a terrific offseason and should make a strong impression in 2009-10. Black played in 17 games and averaged 6.1 minutes per contest as a freshman.

Chancellor also went out and signed junior college transfer Jasmine Nelson. Nelson, a New Orleans native, played for two seasons at Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College where she was teammates with LSU point guard Taylor Booze. Named a 2009 State Farm Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American, she averaged a double-double with 12.4 points and 10.6 boards per contest as a sophomore.

Nelson twice led Trinity Valley to the National Junior College Tournament. She enrolled at the school after helping guide McDonogh 35 High School (New Orleans) to consecutive Class 4A state title appearances in 2006 and 2007 following Hurricane Katrina.

Schedule

For the first time in SEC history, all 12 schools will play a 16-game regular season conference schedule. The move from 14 games to 16 games means the Lady Tigers will play South Carolina and perennial power Tennessee twice. Those games come before a non-conference slate that includes road trips to Louisiana Tech, Nebraska and likely top-25 ranked Xavier (Ohio).

LSU welcomes the return of Middle Tennessee to the Maravich Center on Nov. 18. The Blue Raiders feature the nation’s top returning scorer in Alysha Clark, who averaged 27.5 points per game and poured in 37 points against the Lady Tigers last season.

LSU hosts the inaugural Sue Gunter Classic, Dec. 15-16, in honor of the late Hall of Fame coach. The Lady Tigers open SEC play with two straight road games before hosting defending SEC champion Auburn on Jan. 10 in Pack the PMAC 14. January includes a Maravich Center showdown with the Lady Vols on Jan. 24.

“This is a new era for SEC women’s basketball when you talk about playing 16 conference games,” Chancellor said. “You get to play several teams twice and it is exciting to get some great home games. Fans will get to see us play Tennessee twice since we play them here and then over there.”

LSU returns the trip to Knoxville on Feb. 22 in a game that will be televised nationally by ESPN2. Home games against Arkansas and Mississippi State close the regular season. The Lady Tigers seek to reach NCAA Tournament play for the 12th straight year. Should they do that, they will be playing in a road venue for the first time in three seasons to start tournament play. LSU hosted the first and second rounds the last two years.