The LSU women’s basketball program suffered a tragic loss after a former player was killed on Thursday.
Danielle Ballard is a native of Memphis and played for Lady Tigers from 2012-2015. She helped lead the team to a Sweet 16 appearance in the 2014 NCAA Tournament but didn’t play her senior season.
The tragedy happened two days after Angel Reese guaranteed another title for the program during her acceptance speech for Best Breakthrough Athlete on Wednesday night at the ESPYs.
Tragic Accident
According to Memphis Police department, Ballard, who was on foot, was struck by a vehicle on Thursday around 1:30 a.m. at the intersection of Coleman Road and Raleigh Lagrange Road. Police said that the driver did stay on the scene, and no criminal charges have been announced at this time.
The former LSU star was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Danielle,” LSU said in a statement. “She meant a great deal to our program and was such a big part of our women’s basketball family. It’s difficult to understand why this happened to someone who was so full of life and had so much promise. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.”
Who Was Danielle Ballard?
The 29-year-old guard former LSU guard was a four-time all-state selection in Tennessee, McDonald’s All-American, and was ranked by ESPN top-100 basketball rankings as the No. 25 player in the class of 2012.
Ballard also help lead Memphis Central High School to their first state title in school history during her junior year.
While at LSU, she averaged 12.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. She also was a two-time All-SEC Defensive Team selection, named LSU’s 2014-15 Most Valuable Player, made the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2013, and earned All-SEC first-team honors in 2015.
The scrappy guard averaged 23.3 points and 12.3 rebounds in three tournament games for the Tigers during their Sweet 16 appearance in 2014. She was suspended by the team during parts of her sophomore and junior seasons. Ballard left the program before her senior year but grabbed 500 career rebounds and was just 23 points shy of 1,000 career points.
