The Lady Tiger freshmen made an impression in Wednesday (Nov. 18) night’s home opening 106-50 win against Louisiana State University-Alexandria.
Grambling State University freshman Jazmine Boyd was the leading scorer with 21 points. Shakyla Hill, another freshman, finished with almost a quadruple double with 19 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and nine steals.
Grambling State University freshmen spent quite a bit of time on the floor, proving they are a powerful recruiting class with the intent on making a difference.
“When you’re a freshman people always think you’re not going to do much for the team,” said Boyd, “so I had to step my game up and get the ‘dub’.
Upperclassmen players did their part.
Yosha Watson finished with a double-double — 13 points and 10 rebounds at the Hobdy Assembly Center during the first home game of the season. Chantiara Lewis ended the game with 17 points and six rebounds. John’ea Thompson led the game in rebounds, picking up 11.
The Generals could not handle the Lady Tigers’ explosive offense right from the start. The home team took a 13-point lead at the end of the first period and the Generals could not keep up.
LSU-A had a tough night with 26 turnovers, going 0-15 behind the arch and shooting only 21.5 percent.
The GSU team had balanced play and balanced scoring; spreading the ball around with passes and assists. “We’ve been working on that,” head basketball coach Nadine Domond said after the game. “We’re trying to play full court, up tempo basketball.”
Grambling scored 30 points in the first period against LSU-A’s 17, then scored another 17 in the second with LSU-A managing only 6 points.
The Lady Generals kept fighting, coming back with another 15 in the third, but GSU scored more, this time 27 points. GSU sealed the deal in the fourth with 30 points against 12.
The coach said she was happy with the win but her team’s defensive play must improve.
“When we go back we have to work on some of our defensive schemes and set ups,” she said.
The Lady Tigers had 23 turnovers on Wednesday.
“We didn’t take care of the ball, we didn’t stop the ball as well as I wanted to. I’m upset because we didn’t play disciplined basketball. We didn’t play GSU basketball, the legacy of defense,” the coach said.
The Lady Tigers play Mississippi State Bulldogs Saturday (Nov. 21) at Humphrey Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi at 1 p.m.