To accomplish what the LSU’s women’s basketball team has done this season to date, an improvement of 15 wins over last season and at least a second-place finish in the SEC after placing seventh a year ago, you’ve got to be good and lucky.

The No. 8 ranked Tigers (24-4 overall, 12-3) got better the minute legendary coach Kim Mulkey was hired last April, molding her teams around three graduate student seniors.

LSU has been lucky because it has avoided injuries to its starting lineup that result in missed games. . .until now.

When LSU travels to 16th ranked Tennessee (22-6, 10-4) for a Sunday afternoon 1 p.m. regular season finale with a No. 2 seed in the SEC tourney at stake, the Tigers will be without explosive redshirt junior guard Alexis Morris.

Morris, ranked in the top eight in the SEC in four stat categories including scoring (16.4, 8th), sustained a sprained MCL in her left knee in Thursday’s home win over Alabama. With the Tigers a lock to get an NCAA tourney bid and likely host in the first and second rounds, it’s probable Morris also won’t play in next week’s SEC tourney in Nashville.

Mulkey believes her team, because of the grad student trio of guards Khayla Pointer and Jailin Cherry and center Faustine Aifuwa and grad transfer Autumn Newby, will accept the challenge of playing without Morris.

“They all have confidence and it's just amazing,” Mulkey said. “They don't get too high, they don't get too low and a lot of that is because they're older they're mature. They realize that we've got a tough one in Knoxville."

Tennessee started 18-1 this season but are just 4-5 since because of injuries. The Vols lost top reserve post player Keyen Greene with a season-ending torn ACL in late January. In UT’'s loss at Alabama, last week Tennessee lost its leading scorer Jordan Horston to a dislocated elbow.

"LSU is very consistent, very consistent," Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said. "They play at their own pace offensively. You aren't going to speed them up, not going to slow them down. Defensively, they just don't give you anything easy. They protect the paint well and guard. When you have a dynamic player like Khayla Pointer, and you have all these pieces around you, it makes them challenging."