Roaring Into The Postseason: LSU Women's Basketball

In one of the greatest team
performances in LSU history, an
active roster of seven players
eliminated a Penn State team (26-6)
who defeated LSU on this same floor
a year ago
The Tigers were without the services
of junior guard and leader Jeanne
Kenney, who suffered a head injury in
the final seconds of the first round win
over Green Bay.
“Seventh heaven,” said LSU head
coach Nikki Caldwell as she opened
her press conference. “I was really
proud of our team and what they did
tonight without one of our leaders in
Jeanne Kenney. It was just a
courageous effort by these seven
young ladies and coming away with a
great win against a very, very tough
Penn State.”

“I could see our team really taking in
the atmosphere here, and it was a
great atmosphere, especially for our
seniors knowing that this is their last
game at home,” said Caldwell. “We
just appreciate the fans who have
stayed the course with us and who
continue to believe in us when things
looked a little bleak. This was an
unbelievable crowd.”

 

The heart and soul was ripped out of
the Lady Tigers on Sunday when
Jeanne Kenney went down late in the
win over Green Bay. But apparently
there was a heart transplant Tuesday
night
...
I’ve heard Spokane is beautiful this
time of year. I don’t know if that is
true, but it’s what I’ve heard. But it is
going to be Spokane in our minds
because the LSU Lady Tigers are still
playing and still fighting and whether it
will be seven or eight on Saturday
night...
Spokane here come the Lady Tigers!
It’s already been quite a ride!
...
LSU and California Saturday night. The
Sweet 16. How can you root against
these guys?

 

SPOKANE, Wash. – A day after one of
the most thrilling victories in school
history that sent the LSU women’s
basketball team to its first Sweet 16
since 2008, the Lady Tigers boarded a
charter flight and flew four hours to
Spokane, Wash., on Thursday evening
to begin preparations for their regional
semifinal opponent, the No. 2 seed
and sixth-ranked California Golden
Bears.
...
“They are a very experienced team,”
said Caldwell, who was 6-1 against
the Golden Bears at UCLA. “They are
a team that has been playing together
for a long time. They have a balanced
attack. When you look at their ability
to score the basketball, they have
inside-out play. They do a
tremendous job of getting on the
boards. They are out-rebounding their
opponents by plus-11. That’s going to
be a challenge for us and we’ve got to
make sure and answer that challenge.”
Junior guard Jeanne Kenney, who
missed the Penn State contest after
suffering a head injury in the first
round, was cleared to fly with the team
and she did make the trip. She is day-
to-day in her recovery.
“It’s going to be day-to-day and
we’re going to take all the necessary
precautions to make sure she recovers
100 percent,” said Caldwell.
“Everyone is going to wishful and
hopeful that Jeanne is able to return to
us.”
Junior forward Theresa Plaisance said
the team was not just satisfied with
making the Sweet 16 and that they
have bigger aspirations.
“We are going to do our best to keep
this going,” she said. “We have a
special group of seniors. The heart of
this team is bigger than anyone can
measure.”
...
Caldwell:
"We are not at home.
We are on the road. At a neutral site
but we not in the comfort of our LSU
fans and our community that allowed
us to play in front of them. They were
tremendous in being there and
cheering for our team. Our team really
rallied around that.”
...
Cal does “a great job of disrupting the
basketball. Their guard play is pretty
strong. They have players that can
really guard one-on-one. The one
thing about Cal is their ability to
rebound the basketball. They do a
good job of controlling the tempo of
the game. We’ve got to be patient
with our offensive attack; share the
basketball and shot selection is
important for us.”

About California’s Lyshia Clarendon
“Anytime she has the basketball she is
good. … She’s very good ...yes,
we are going to have a challenge in
guarding Clarendon.”

 

Jeanne Kenney enters the game at 12:53 mark

She's already fearlessly taking charges!

 

14 all

 

Mechelle Voepel @MechelleV 3m
Jeanne Kenney would step in to take
a charge from a stampeding
elephant. The kid is fearless, ever
after the head knock. #wncaa

Zach Rau @zrau 7m
Jeanne Kenney looks like a character
from Tron with the scrum cap on.

 

LSU takes first lead of the night!

up 18-16

 

20-19 LSU

 

Bill Martin @LSUBillMartin 4m
With that, Danielle Ballard becomes
the first player in #LSU history - men
or women - to record 100 steals in a
season. Only a freshman

 

22-20 Tigers