Lady Tigers touchdown in North Carolina

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DURHAM, N.C. -- The 21st-ranked LSU Lady Tigers have arrived in Durham, N.C., in preparation for Saturday's 2010 NCAA Tournament First Round contest against No. 23 Hartford that tips at 11:06 a.m. CDT on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com in Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium.


LSU players, coaches, support staff and members of the LSU Tiger Band and LSU cheerleaders boarded a charter plane at 3 p.m. CT Thursday in Baton Rouge. The Lady Tigers landed in Durham after a two-hour flight but not before circling above the airport while waiting for Vice President Joe Biden's plane to depart. LSU did not practice on Thursday.

 

Friday will be a busy schedule for LSU, who will put together its final preparations for its first NCAA Tournament first round game at a neutral site since 2007. LSU has played its two previous first rounds in Baton Rouge. Senior guard Allison Hightower, junior guard Katherine Graham and sophomore forward LaSondra Barrett are scheduled to take part in an ESPN shoot for footage that will be used during Saturday's broadcast.

 

Hightower, Barrett and head coach Van Chancellor then take part in a pre-tournament news conference with members of the media at 10:20 a.m. CDT. The 30-minute press conference leads up to LSU's open practice at 11 a.m. CDT in Cameron Indoor Stadium. It will be the Lady Tigers' first look at the facility.

 

LSU has never played a game at Duke. It is also the first time since 1986 the Lady Tigers have played a game in the state of North Carolina. That year, LSU played two games in the East Carolina Lady Pirate Classic in Greensville, N.C.

 

Friday afternoon calls for study hall for the players and a final evening film session on Hartford. LSU and Hartford are meeting for just the second time and the first since Dec. 4, 1992. The Lady Tigers are 3-0 all-time versus opponents from the America East Conference with the last meeting coming against Maine in the 2004 season-opener.

Posted by Bill Martin