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LSU LADY TIGERS PUT FIVE-GAME WIN STREAK ON THE LINE AT RIVAL LOUISIANA TECH
BATON
ROUGE -- The LSU women’s basketball team begins a three-game road trip
and puts its five-game winning streak on the line at 7 p.m. Thursday as
the Lady Tigers battle in-state rival Louisiana Tech in the Thomas
Assembly Center.
The game follows a Louisiana Tech men’s game
against Spring Hill, which tips at 5 p.m. The LSU Sports Radio Network
will go on the air at 6:45 p.m. and can be heard on 107.3 FM in Baton
Rouge or in the Geaux Zone on www.LSUsports.net/live.
The Lady
Tigers (8-3) are returning to the floor since defeating Grambling 62-47
on Dec. 22 in Baton Rouge. LSU hasn’t lost in the month of December and
the Lady Tigers are seeking to complete a perfect December for the
second straight year. LSU has won 12 consecutive games in the month of
December dating back to 2009.
The Lady Techsters (7-7) have
won two in a row and five of its last six, including a 63-62 win over
Mississippi State on Dec. 11. Jasmine Bendolph, a 5-foot-7 guard, has
produced 11 double-digit scoring games this season and she is averaging
11.9 points and 5.0 assists per game. Forward Whitney Frazier, the
Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week, is coming off a
career-high 20 points in an 82-64 win over Tennessee Tech prior to
Christmas.
“I remember how difficult it is to play and win
here at Louisiana Tech,” said LSU head coach Nikki Caldwell. “It
definitely won’t be an easy game for us to waltz into. We have to be
mentally prepared to face this challenge and hostile crowd. When you
are facing an in-state school, there is definitely a lot more on the
line.”
“You want to do the best to represent your university
and obviously, we are going to do the best to represent LSU. This is a
great rivalry for both teams and we want to continue it in the future.”
Louisiana
Tech leads the all-time series with LSU, 12-11, but the Lady Tigers
have won the last six meetings overall and the last seven regular
season meetings. LSU has won three in a row in Ruston with most
recently, a 77-74 victory in 2009 behind 32 points from Allison
Hightower. The Lady Tigers won decisively last season in Baton Rouge by
a score of 68-53.
Defense has been the key for LSU, who leads
the Southeastern Conference in field goal percentage defense (31.0
percent). That figure also ranks fourth nationally. LSU is also holding
opponents to 46.5 points, which ranks second in the SEC and third in
the nation.
Offensively, the Lady Tigers have risen to second
in the conference in field goal percentage (44.9 percent) and assists
(16.5 apg). Senior forward LaSondra Barrett continues to pace LSU with
12.0 points per game. Junior guard Adrienne Webb is second on the squad
with 8.5 points per contest. Six players have tallied double-digit
assists for the season.
“This group is definitely getting
better and they have shown improvement in not only their practices but
their play in games,” added Caldwell.
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