Any coach with Trenell Smith or Dani Holland on their side of the court stands a fighting chance against anyone.
There’s just not much you can do against a squad that qualified for the NCAA Final Four the last three years and counts on a WNBA-caliber star.
Number 10 LSU and star center Sylvia Fowles, whose 15.9 points and 11 rebounds a game are good enough for preseason All-SEC first team considerations, derailed Loyola 90-47 in Baton Rouge Wednesday night.
“We played this game to help us prepare for our real schedule,” coach DoBee Plaisance said. “They’re not even close to the caliber of LSU.”
Psychology sophomore Smith, however, took no notice of her opponent’s pedigree and racked up 22 points off 5-for-10 shooting, earning 12 trips to the line and converting 11 of them.
Her game-best performance outdid Fowles’ 19 points – unfortunately, it influenced the game’s outcome minimally.
“She played exceptionally against an exceptional team,” Plaisance said.
Mass communication senior Kiely Schork, Loyola’s second top option, scored 10 points. Though she was the only other scorer in double figures for the ‘Pack, she shot poorly, only connecting on 3-for-15 shots from the field and hitting only 2-of-10 three point balls.
The Lady Tigers’ Rashonta Leblanc shot surgically, tallying 14 points on a perfect 6-for-6 night of shooting.
Of the first 13 shots Loyola took, seven were from three-point range and none went in.
“That’s what was open. They kept getting a piece on our post feeds. We’re good at hitting three-point shots – that’s not indicative of what we’re capable of,” Plaisance said.
They scored one field goal.
LSU sped off to a 12-0 start before Smith banked a lay-up to put Loyola on the scoreboard.
Smith amassed the ‘Pack’s first eight points, until at 31-8, Schork hit a three-pointer.
Loyola allowed 34 points off 29 turnovers and saw LSU out-rebound them 45-21.
Plaisance, however, is hardly troubled. “Everything will fall. We got open shots against LSU, so we’ll get open shots against anyone and they’ll fall.”
Ramon Vargas can be reached at [email protected].
