Kim Mulkey announces LSU superstar Angel Reese will play Thursday vs. Virginia Tech

Angel Reese is returning to the LSU ahead of their showdown with Virginia Tech on Thursday, per Tigers coach Kim Mulkey.

“All-American forward Angel Reese will play in the LSU women’s basketball team’s Thursday night game against Virginia Tech after missing the last four games, coach Kim Mulkey said Wednesday,” reported Reed Darcey of NOLA.com. “She last played on Nov. 14, when LSU hosted Kent State. Reese started that game but sat the entire second half.

“Then, the Tigers played their road contest against Southeastern Louisiana, their home game against Texas Southern and their two matchups in the Cayman Islands Classic without her. “

LSU continued their winning ways on the court in Reese’s stead. The Tigers haven’t lost since their opening night drubbing. However, the biggest story surrounding the program has been to be the status of their star.

From a pure basketball perspective, not having Reese on the court hurt LSU, even if they won. In just four games this season, she’s averaging 17.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Reese did not seem like she was going to be slowing down after her fantastic NCAA Tournament.

Regardless, Mulkey kept the focus on the court during her absence. This was nothing new for her after a long career in coaching. She just wants to attempt to keep things internal, similar to a family.

“You always have to deal with locker room issues,” Mulkey said, earlier last week. “That’s just part of coaching. In 40 years, I can never think of a time I didn’t have to deal with issues. That’s what coaches do. Sometimes y’all know about them and sometimes y’all don’t. Sometimes you want to know more than you’re entitled to know. I’m going to protect my players. Always. They are more important. It’s like a family.

“If you do some disciplining of your own children, do you think we’re entitled to know that? That’s a family in that locker room.”

After some time off, Angel Reese is back this week, and the Hokies will be looking to spoil her return. We’ll see who gets the better of one another.