Kim Mulkey declines to address if there is a gap between LSU, South Carolina

LSU and South Carolina battled in the largest women’s college hoops showcase of the season, with the Gamecocks narrowly out-dueling the Tigers in Baton Rouge.

Ninth-ranked LSU actually jumped out to the early first quarter lead and stayed on top for much of the ball game. Eventually, though, No. 1 and undefeated South Carolina wore the Tigers down, especially once star player Angel Reese fouled out in the fourth quarter. The Gamecocks won that final period by 10 points to ultimately secure the tight victory.

So there wasn’t any embarrassment after the game from the LSU side despite the home loss. instead, Tiger head coach Kim Mulkey credited Carolina’s toughness and noted that her team could have flipped the result with a play here or there, but alas, they did not. However, she wasn’t a huge fan of being asked whether there’s a “gap” between her team and South Carolina.

“You setting me up because then you have all those South Carolina people jumping on me,” Mulkey fired back. But that answer then gave way to the following comments:

“That was a good basketball game. There’s a lot of talent on both sides. A possession here, maybe we would have won it; a possession there, maybe we would have won it. But they made the plays to win it and it was just toughness.”

As for what comes next, Mulkey says the team will review the film and break down exactly where the game was won and lost in the final moments.

“We will get in the film room Saturday and get ready for Mississippi State. We will show some of the things. How did we lose the lead? Where did we not help each other on the defensive end? Was that mental fatigue? Was it not communicating?”

Mulkey admits she needs the film review in order to properly process what took place on the defensive end of the court, since it’s not always easy to tell, especially since LSU’s bench was on the far side in the fourth quarter.

“But it was on the far end because we’re on defense down there, so we couldn’t scream and holler at them. There were several possessions on the defensive end where we needed to make stops, and we just didn’t do it.”

Ever the energetic coach, Kim Mulkey certainly doesn’t have her head hung low after a the defeat against top-ranked South Carolina.