Candace Parker on all things women’s college basketball
WNBA star Candace Parker joins us to talk all things college basketball ahead of the women’s NCAA tournament.
LSU meets Iowa again Monday night with a trip to the women’s Final Four on the line. Will the Tigers top the Hawkeyes again, one year to the day they beat them for the national championship? Or is Iowa’s Caitlin Clark headed to her second straight Final Four?
Here are three X-factors for the Tigers to win:
Own the glass
LSU is the best rebounding team left in the tournament, outrebounding its opponents by an average of 12.6 boards per game. (South Carolina is next at 12.2.) Given that the Tigers have a clear size advantage against the Hawkeyes, it will be crucial to own the glass. Rebounds will allow LSU to control the pace – huge against a team that loves to run in transition – and create second-chance opportunities, something Angel Reese in particular excels at.
Boards aren’t just about a number, though. They are a psychological advantage. Teams know how crucial rebounds are to winning big games – as Pat Summitt used to say, “Offense sells tickets, defense wins games, rebounds win championships” – and in timeouts, when your coach is harping on you to get aggressive on the glass, it can take a mental toll. LSU intimidates plenty of teams with its tenacity, especially in the rebounding battle. If they can win that part, especially if they’re plus-10, the Tigers’ odds of returning to the Final Four increase dramatically. After UCLA out-rebounded LSU by six in the Tigers’ Sweet 16 win, they’ll be especially eager to grab every available rebound.
Keep Angel Reese on the floor
There’s no denying the Tigers are best when the 2023 Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player and the 2024 SEC player of the year is on the floor.
Angel Reese is a brash, trash-talking, one-woman wrecking crew who can back up pretty much everything she says. She’s a double-double waiting to happen, averaging 18.7 points per game and 13.2 rebounds per game. She’s an excellent passer too – an often underappreciated part of her game – and while she only averages 2.3 assists per game, she knows where the ball needs to go and gets it there.
So to win this game, she has to stay out of foul trouble and on the floor. She’s smart enough to recognize how the game is being officiated and adjust, even if it’s called tight.
Hit outside shots
When LSU beat Iowa for the championship last year, it was because the Tigers hit shots, something South Carolina didn’t do against the Hawkeyes.
Specifically, Alexis Morris (8-of-14), Ladazhia Williams (9-of-16) and Jasmine Carson (7-of-8) were terrific from the field.
All three of those players are gone. That means it’s on the likes of Flau’jae Johnson (50.1% from the field this season), Aneesah Morrow (46.7%) and Mikaylah Williams (47.5%) to step up and knock down shots. It would help if Hailey Van Lith (38.4%) could shoot better than she has all season, too.
