After back-to-back SEC losses following a 14-0 start, the questions about LSU Tigers Kim Mulkey and the LSU Tigers are just beginning.
‘We’re not tough enough,’ Mulkey said after the Tigers’ 65-61 loss on Sunday to the No. 12 Vanderbilt Commodores.
‘Toughness is either you have it, or you don’t, and we’re not tough enough. And that’s all the players in the locker room tonight. You’re not tough enough to make a play when you need it. You’re not tough enough to get that rebound when we need it. It’s not just one or two. It’s the whole locker room at different times.’
Before the start of SEC play, LSU was undefeated. As the top-scoring offense in women’s college basketball, averaging 106 points a game, the Tigers churned out 100 points or more points 11 times during their winning streak. LSU was winning by an average of 55 points. What’s more, their hot start allowed seven players to average double figures, including starters Flau’jae Johnson and Mikayla Williams.
Then, SEC play began.
LSU opened against No. 12 Kentucky on its home floor. The Wildcats were led by guard Tonie Morgan and forward Teonni Key. Morgan had a 24-point night, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to hand LSU its first loss of the season, 80-78. Key added 17 points and 16 rebounds. The Tigers were beaten on the glass (45-29 rebounds) and had 12 assists to the Wildcats’ 19.
With a chance at redemption, LSU played No. 11 Vanderbilt on Jan. 4. The Commodores (14-0) have been led by sophomore Mikalya Blakes, the fourth-best scorer in the country, who is averaging 24.7 points per game. Mulkey attempted to help her struggling team against Blakes and the Commodores by inserting South Carolina transfer MiLaysia Fulwiley into the starting lineup. Fulwiley, who usually averages a team-leading 14.2 points, scored 13 points. Johnson, another surefire source of production, didn’t register a single point in the 65-61 loss to Vanderbilt. Making matters worse, in a game where they led nearly 60% of the time, LSU had 22 turnovers and allowed the Commodores to rack up 14 steals.
‘Discipline. Fatigue. Focus. I’m very complimentary of the opponent when they make spectacular plays ― 22 turnovers. I’m telling you majority of them were done from upperclassmen who just, for whatever reason turned it over,’ Mulkey said, frustrated. ‘We outrebounded them by 20-something, but here’s the difference: they got 19 offensive boards, and many of those were late in the game.
‘We’re not talented enough to beat people like we have been, so possessions matter. If you’re a baller, you got to have it in you internally: ‘I’m going to do my job, if my teammate will do her job’. That snowballs. We’re just not there yet.’
Ultimately, it’s hard to win any game with double-digit turnovers. However, it wasn’t just the turnovers from the Tigers; they also let Blakes score 32 points (12 in the fourth quarter) and gave up 10 shots from beyond the arc, including the go-ahead basket from guard Aubrey Galvan with just over two minutes remaining. Late-game execution, lack of focus and inconsistent perimeter defense have gotten LSU into trouble. Those areas of weakness also flashed during a Dec. 4 game against the Duke Blue Devils, but the Tigers were able to pull away in the fourth quarter.
LSU needs a lot more effort if they want to make it through SEC conference play, which includes six more ranked matchups, with a winning record and to the Final Four in Phoenix in April. Truly, LSU’s lighter strength of schedule before January did them no favors in preparing them for what’s to come. Mulkey seemingly knew the team had been skating by, and she wasn’t afraid to say the quiet part out loud.
‘If we hadn’t played that schedule, we might would be sitting here with a lot of losses.’