LSU Lady Tigers Ranked No. 24 in Athlon Preseason Poll, Open Practice On Tuesday

A day prior to the first official practice of the season, the LSU women’s basketball team has earned a No. 24 preseason ranking in Athlon Sports Preseason Basketball Yearbook.

LSU, which finished the season ranked 25th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, returns four starters from a squad that reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. Two-time defending national champion Connecticut is atop the poll followed by Stanford and Tennessee. LSU faces the Lady Vols twice this season.

The Lady Tigers will also go up against five more teams in the Athlon poll, including No. 5 Ohio State in its home opener on Nov. 17 in the Maravich Center. No. 11 Kentucky, No. 13 UCLA, No. 20 Georgia and No. 23 Vanderbilt are all LSU opponents this season.

Naismith Hall of Fame head coach Van Chancellor welcomes back 11 letterwinners, who will take to the floor for the first official practice of the season at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the new LSU Basketball Practice Facility that opened last month. Chancellor enters his fourth season at the helm having compiled one of the best coaching records in school history with a 71-27 (.724) mark.

The Oct. 5 start date is the earliest in school history. According to a new NCAA rule policy adopted in April, women’s basketball teams across the nation can began practice after 5 p.m. on the date that is 40 days before the school’s first regular-season contest.  LSU opens the season at Northwestern (Ill.) on Nov. 14.

Katherine Graham is one of seven players on the squad with at least two years of experience at LSU. The 5-foot-11 senior averaged 8.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest. She entered the record books with just the third triple-double in school history.

“We have set the tone for practice by how hard we have worked this offseason,” Graham said. “It’s exciting to get back out there on the floor as a team. We have 30 practices in 40 days. We will have a chance to work on all of the things we wanted to improve on heading into this season. Our goal is to finish strong, and I am excited where we are at right now.”

Season tickets for the 2010-11 LSU women’s basketball season went on sale Monday starting at a special low price of $50. Tickets can be purchased online at LSUtix.net, by phone at 1-800-960-TKTS or 225-578-2184 or in person at the LSU Athletic Ticket Office on the first floor of the LSU Athletic Administration Building.

Athlon Magazine Preseason Poll
1. Connecticut*
2. Stanford
3. Tennessee*
4. Baylor
5. Ohio State*
6. Xavier
7. Texas A&M
8. Duke
9. West Virginia
10. Maryland
11. Kentucky*
12. Georgetown
13. UCLA*
14. Notre Dame
15. St. John’s
16. Oklahoma
17. Bowling Green
18. Iowa State
19. Florida State
20. Georgia*
21. Texas
22. Virginia
23. Vanderbilt*
24. LSU
25. Nebraska

Posted by Bill Martin