LSU’s fifth-year senior guard Khayla Pointer was named Tuesday to the preseason All-SEC Women’s basketball team by media from across the Southeastern Conference.
After being named to the All-SEC first team and defensive team last season, Pointer announced in April that she would return for her final year of eligibility in Baton Rouge, having already eclipsed 1,000 career points last season. She averaged a career-high 16.9 points per game last season, dished out 90 total assists and accumulated 55 steals.
“She is an all-conference player, and she is a leader out there on the floor,” first-year LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey said about Pointer. “She’s learning. It’s a new system for her. She will be one of our leaders as will Faus (Fuastine Aifuwa) and (Jailin) Cherry.”
Aifuwa and Cherry also announced in April with Pointer that they would return for their final season with the Tigers. As senior members of Coach Mulkey’s first LSU roster, they are going to be key pieces to the foundation of the program she is building.
“I want them to have the best year of their college careers,” Mulkey said. “I want them to leave here and saw, ‘wow!’ If they do that, I will be excited for them. They can be the beginning of what we hope to be special times again at LSU in women’s basketball. I respect them tremendously for staying and for embracing us as a new staff.”
The league’s media selected LSU to finish in the top half of the SEC as the No. 7 team. Mulkey has expressed the importance of celebrating small accomplishments as LSU embraces what the future has in store.
“You give the team little goals throughout the year and when you achieve those goals, you celebrate them,” Mulkey said. “The NCAA Tournament will take care of itself if you can finish in the upper half of this league, but we have other goals that are just as important as that in order to build this program for the long-term.”
The Tigers are set to begin their season November 9 at 11 a.m. when they host Nicholls. Season tickets are still available, and fans are encouraged to join the Fast Break Club to support the Tigers on and off the court.
LSU will host two exhibition matches that will both be free for fans to attend. The first will take place October 30 against Langston at 2:30 p.m. and the other will be on November 4 at 6 p.m. against Loyola.
The Fast Break Club will also hold a Kickoff Event on October 26 at 6 p.m. inside the PMAC. The event will be open for all fans to attend. There will be free food and a cash bar with LSU Cheerleaders, Tiger Girls and Mike the Tiger set to be there.
SEC Preseason Media Poll:
1. South Carolina
2. Tennessee
3. Texas A&M
4. Kentucky
5. Georgia
6. Arkansas
7. LSU
8. Ole Miss
9. Mississippi State
10. Alabama
11. Missouri
12. Florida
13. Auburn
14. Vanderbilt
Player of the Year:
Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
Preseason All-SEC:
Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
Khayla Pointer, LSU
Shakira Austin, Ole Miss
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
Zia Cooke, South Carolina
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