Lady Tigers open SEC season women's hoops

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Southeastern Conference portion of the women’s basketball season tipsoff at 7 p.m. tonight at Bud Walton Arena as Arkansas hosts LSU.

The Razorbacks, 11-4, finished non-conference games last Saturday.

Tonight’s game is broadcast over the women’s affiliates of the Razorback Sports Network, and audio will stream live for RazorVision members at ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Per SEC rules, there is no live video stream of the game. The game will be available for RazorVision members later this evening as a replay.

The game is the first time since the 2001 season for neither team to be ranked in the series. Arkansas and LSU are paired in the SEC’s women’s basketball scheduling system, and tonight’s game marks the 33rd meeting between the two universities.

The Lady TIgers, 6-5, have participated in the past four Women’s Final Fours, but bring a rebuilding team filled with freshmen and newcomers to Fayetteville. The entire starting line-up is new for LSU. Two-year sixth player Allison Hightower moves into the starting line-up this season for the Lady Tigers. The 5-9 junior guard is scoring 13.5 ppg.

Arkansas counters with a mix of veterans and newcomers. Freshman Ceira Ricketts leads Arkansas in scoring with 13.7 ppg, and ranks fifth this week in the SEC in scoring. Seniors Ayana Brereton (10.7 ppg) and Whitney Jones (10.2 ppg, 7 rpg) have started every game this year for the Razorbacks. Freshman Lyndsay Harris rounds out Arkansas’ double digit scorers with 10.4 ppg. Sophomore Shanita Arnold (7.8 ppg, 3 apg) at point guard ranks among the top players in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio.

A meeting of former Seguin HIgh stars may be on hold for tonight. Hightower and Arkansas’ Charity Ford were once the top backcourt in the state of Texas. Ford, a two-year starter for Arkansas, is day-to-day with a stress fracture.

Defense is likely the dominant factor of the contest as both LSU and Arkansas have been stingy in their non-conference games. Arkansas allows an average of 57.7 ppg while LSU is giving up only 52.2 ppg. So far this season that defense has allowed Arkansas to be a perfect 11-0 in every game the Razorbacks score 61 or more points.