LSU WBB intent on bouncing back against Ole Miss on Thursday

Now three days removed from the 24-point loss to South Carolina on Sunday afternoon, LSU is intent on regrouping. Amidst all of the build up for the matchup between the two undefeated goliaths, LSU head coach Kim Mulkey tried her best to keep her team level headed.

The result was not going to define their season. No one is on South Carolina’s level. They still have four more games and an entire postseason to prepare for. These were a few of the messages Mulkey made clear before the team even got on the plane to South Carolina.

The Tigers lost the game, now what? Now, we get to see if they can avoid a let down. 

“That stage was so big and so good for our program,” Mulkey said. “I don’t like getting my butt handed to me on national television, but that’s not the first time. That’s part of the learning process. I’ll ask them at practice today ‘What did you learn? What can you do better? Was the moment too big for you?’ It was good for our program. It’s the next step in where we’re trying to go. Those kids aren’t going to be devastated.”

Scouting the Rebels

Next up for LSU is a home game against an 8-4 Ole Miss team sitting at No. 4 in the conference. The Rebels have played multiple ranked teams so far this year and come in having winners of four of their last five. 

After last year’s success, Ole Miss had to replace first-round pick Shakira Austin last season, a star post player. This year, it’s a more diverse attack with four players scoring 9.8 points or more per game.

“They are very good off the dribble,” Mulkey said of Ole Miss. “They aren’t as big with [Austin] gone now, but they have adjusted and they’re winning. Baker and those kids are talented and very confident right now. They’ve taken care of business to put themselves in the top four and we’ve done the same, so this is a very important game for both teams.”

Angel Baker leads Ole Miss with 15.8 points per game in conference play to go with nearly seven rebounds and three assists on 47.2 percent shooting.

It’s the defense that is their calling card, though. The Rebels are holding conference opponents to just 34.7 percent shooting from the field and 23.5 percent from 3-point range. They’re also outrebounding teams by nine boards per game in conference.

“Ole Miss is very quick and very athletic and they have great length,” associate head coach Bob Starkey said. “They’re one of the best defensive teams in the country. It will be a very fast paced game where both teams like to run and are aggressive defensively. It will come down to us taking care of the ball and doing the job we do on the boards. Get back to being a dominating rebounding team after the last time out.”

After playing in a raucous environment on Sunday, the Tigers get this game at home, getting the support of the fans to help get their feet back under them. Will it be a team anxious to prove itself or could LSU lack confidence after the loss?

Only one way to find out.

“I would imagine they’re going to bounce back. Competitors do,” Mulkey said. “This game is not going to be a reflection of what happened in the last game. February is a grind and these last four games will be a grind and it will have nothing to do with the outcome of the South Carolina game.”