LSU women’s basketball Coach Kim Mulkey addresses absence of Angel Reese

Things aren’t off to the hot start many anticipated for the reigning national champions. After beginning the season with a loss against No. 20 Colorado in game one, the Tigers seemed to get back into a rhythm, winning four straight, including tonight’s 73-50 victory over Southeastern Louisiana. However, off-court issues began to come into question due to the absence of star forward Angel Reese. LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey addressed any concerns postgame.

Tigers earn shaky win vs. Southeastern Louisiana

It was a curious first half for the Tigers. After the drama of finding out about the absence of star forward Angel Reese, the team looked out of sorts for a large chunk of the early parts of the game.

At halftime, LSU was up 40- 31 on Southeastern Louisiana, thanks to the Tigers going 14-for-16 from the free throw line.

However, despite the rocky start, things turned around quite a bit in the second. Players such as Mikaylah Williams, Flau’jae Johnson, Sa’Myah Smith and Hailey Van Lith began to find their stride, putting the game out of reach.

LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey and her squad would go on a 19-2 run to start the half and never looked back.

Johnson led the game in scoring, putting up 17 points to go along with 11 rebounds, three assists and four rebounds. The Tigers had three other players reach double-digits on the day, as Williams, Van Lith and Morrow each scored at least 10.

LSU inevitably won with a score of 73-50, overcoming early struggles and keeping the winning streak alive.

Road W pic.twitter.com/FyIbSmjkKW

— LSU Women’s Basketball (@LSUwbkb) November 18, 2023

LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey addresses absence of star forward Angel Reese

On Tuesday, LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey decided not to play star forward Angel Reese for the entirety of the second half vs. Kent State.

At the time, not much was thought of it, and the head coach called it a “coach’s decision.” However, with her absence yet again tonight, the question of off-court issues began to come into effect.

When asked about the star forward postgame, coach Kim Mulkey seemed supportive, saying, “Angel is a part of this basketball team, and we hope we see her sooner or later.”

“You want me to explain why? It’s very obvious Angel was not in uniform. Angel is a part of this basketball team and we hope to see her sooner rather than later.”@LSUwbkb Kim Mulkey on Angel Reese not attending Friday’s game at Southeastern. #LSU @WAFB pic.twitter.com/d2JP5J6mRU

— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) November 18, 2023

While the head coach wouldn’t comment further, it’s at the very least encouraging to hear that her standing with the program hasn’t taken too much of a hit.

The Tigers will now look ahead to Monday, as they’ll face Texas Southern at 7:00 p.m. CST in Baton Rouge, LA. The game will be available to watch live on ESPN.

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