The transfer portal giveth, and the transfer portal taketh away — sometimes even for programs seemingly near the top of their sport’s respective food chain.
LSU women’s basketball has seen a series of rotation players for this year’s Sweet 16 team seemingly opt this week to leave Baton Rouge despite high expectations for next season around what was expected to be a large returning core.
And the biggest hit came Thursday evening as starting point guard Jada Richard, the former Lafayette Christian star fresh off a breakout sophomore season in purple and gold, was reported by On3 national women’s college basketball and recruiting reporter Talia Goodman as planning to enter the portal.
The 5-foot-7 standout became the most prominent and surprising reported departure thus far from the Lady Tigers, joining senior guard Kailyn Gilbert and freshman guards Bella Hines and Divine Bourrage.
Richard, the state’s 2024 Miss Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year, started all but one of the team’s 35 games this season and averaged 9.5 points, 3.3 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per contest.
Her 40.8% shooting from beyond the arc was second-sharpest only to junior star Mikaylah Williams (Parkway) among players to attempt at least four 3-pointers.
Hines played in 33 games as one of the team’s primary reserves and averaged 4.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 07. steals.
Bourrage, who has since signed with Illinois, averaged 2.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.7 steals in 24 appearances.
And Gilbert averaged 5.6 points, 2.0 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 0.8 steals in five games early this season before taking an extended leave from the team because of a reported family issue. The previous season, she was the team’s top reserve with 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest in 37 appearances.