1
After 11 years under the ten- ure of Hall of Fame softball coach Yvette Girouard, the Lady Tigers enter spring under the tutelage of first-year head coach Beth Torina. Torina, twice named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year in her four years at the helm of Florida International in Miami, said she inherited a team with lofty goals for itself. “We have 22 girls that will tell you they want to be in the College World Series, and they’re work- ing every single day to be there,” Torina said. “People that haven’t necessarily made the name that they wanted to make for them- selves, and they’re on a mission to get that done this year.” The Lady Tigers fell short of their goal last season, falling in the NCAA Regional in College Station, Texas. “It always leaves a bitter taste in your mouth when you don’t go as far as you wish you would have,” said senior outfielder Ash- ley Applegate. “It just gives us more motivation to work even harder than we did the year be- fore.” In addition to her head-coach- ing duties, Torina is also the Lady Tigers’ pitching coach, giving her a hands-on approach. After losing three of the last four games, the LSU men’s basket- ball team desperately needed a home victory to even its Southeastern Con- ference record. It got that win Tues- day night in the PMAC when it took down Auburn in overtime, 65-58. That’s the good news. The bad news: Auburn might be one of the worst teams in the SEC, and LSU gave it three chances to make a three-pointer in the winning seconds to send it to overtime, the last of which Auburn point guard Va- rez Ward drained with just .02 ticks left. As good of a rebounding team as LSU is, there is no excuse for any team to get two offensive boards in the last seconds, let alone Auburn. To top it all off, LSU will face three of the country’s top-20 teams in the next week. First, the Tigers travel to Gaines- ville on Saturday for a matchup with No. 17 Florida, which boasts one of the most talented and deepest back- courts in the country. Gator guards Kenny Boynton and Brad Beal will pressure the LSU guards on defense and are capable of getting hot shoot- ing the three and forgetting to cool off. The slate doesn’t get any easier when LSU takes the back roads to Starkville to take on No. 18 Missis- sippi State on Wednesday. The Ti- gers will have to completely change the game plan, as the Bulldogs have one of the top big men duos in the Sports Thursday, January 19, 2012 page 9 Lady Tigers enter 2012 with new coach, lofty goals SOFTBALL Torina takes over motivated team Scott Branson Sports Contributor CATHERINE THRELKELD / The Daily Reveille LSU sophomore outfielder Alex Boulet and fellow teammates warmup Jan. 18 at practice in Tiger Park. TIGER FATE, see page 12 SOFTBALL, see page 12 Tough week ahead to decide Tiger tourney fate Don’t blame LSU senior forward Courtney Jones if she wants to be a little defensive — it seems to be working well for LSU this season. Sure, offense is glamorous and grabs headlines, but the gritty defensive play by Jones has been a catalyst for an improved LSU squad. And Jones is comfortable in her role. “I take pride in my defense,” Jones said. “The offense will come. I don’t have a problem getting other people open and working to get rebounds. Whatever it takes.” The team-first attitude has allowed the 6-foot-2-inch Jones to be the an- chor for a Lady Tiger defense that is giving up a scant 47.5 points per game, ranked second in the Southeastern Conference. When roaming the court on defense, Jones’ length and athleticism have yielded the impressive marks in both rebounds (5.2 per game) and blocks (0.7 per game) this season. While Jones was solid for the Lady Tigers early in the season, she has been filling the box scores lately. Maybe she finally got the Christmas present she’s always wanted, or maybe she used the time off to tinker with her game and find a formula for success, but Jones has been scorching since LSU broke for its winter holiday. LSU has played six games since the break — including five against SEC competition — and in them the Alabama native improved her aver- ages in blocks, rebounds and steals. Blocking an opponent’s shot — something Jones admitted she rel- ishes — has been her forte recently, as she posted eight of her 12 blocks this season in her torrid stretch. But playing at a high level defensively has unlocked a different part of Jones’ game. Jones bumped up her season scoring average from 6.3 to 8.1 after tallying 68 points in the six games, an 11.3 per game average. For the season, Jones is shooting 51.5 percent from the field — the best of any LSU regular. Her play is fueled by a never-say-die competitive spirit. Senior forward La- Sondra Barrett, who came to LSU with Jones, said Jones’ zeal for the game is contagious. Jones-ing for Defense Senior forward Courtney Jones sets the example Luke Johnson Sports Writer JONES, see page 12 BRIANNA PACIORKA / The Daily Reveille MIC’D UP MICAH BEDARD Sports Columnist
