On Thursday evening, Coach Kim Mulkey and the Tigers secured a victory in their top-10 matchup against Virginia Tech with a final score of 82-64. The night held significance for various reasons, notably marking Coach Mulkey’s 700th career win and the return of LSU women’s basketball forward Angel Reese to the court.
LSU women’s basketball forward Angel Reese returns to the court for a win over No. 9 Virginia Tech
What a night it was for fans of the purple and gold. After weeks of scrutiny from the media, the Tigers finally had their chance to shut things down in a major way.
To open the 2023 season, coach Kim Mulkey and the Tigers dropped game one against Colorado, falling in dramatic fashion, 92-78. However, they’ve gone on quite the winning streak since, most recently beating Virginia Tech last night.
“We had our first game, and people counted us out of course, but we made it personal tonight,” stated star junior Angel Reese on the significant team win. “Coming together at our homecourt, knowing Virginia Tech from the Final Four, I think that was beneficial, but it was about us tonight.
“I told them nobody comes in our house and takes anything from us. We really worked hard and played together. You saw how many people were in double figures tonight, so obviously we just love playing together and playing team basketball.”
The win was impressive on all fronts, from coaching, to offense, to the defensive side of the ball. On the day, they ran with just a seven player rotation, but it clearly worked.
Most notably, the Tigers had four players reach double figures in the scoring column. Mikaylah Williams led the charge with 20 points, while Angel Reese (19), Aneesah Morrow (19) and Flau’jae Johnson (13) each made big-time contributions of their own.
“It’s just showing all the work we’ve been putting in since the season started,” transfer portal addition Aneesah Morrow added when discussing the elite performance. “Playing together, but also how much of an advantage it is to have great guards that go in and rebound and defend, and have that presence inside as well.”
Reese addresses her four-game absence
As good as it feels to get a win, the biggest part of last night’s win might be the team’s gradual return to full strength. Earlier this week, coach Kim Mulkey revealed that forward Sa’Myah Smith would miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, while guard Keteri Poole remains unavailable.
Luckily, it wasn’t all bad news in the availability report, as she announced that LSU women’s basketball forward Angel Reese would make her return after a four game absence.
“It felt great. It was a long two weeks to be away from the team,” Reese said when asked about how it felt to get back on the floor. “Taking time to yourself is really important. I feel like that’s just something that was important. Resetting and refocusing within the team, I’m just happy to be back. This place was amazing tonight, and I’m just happy to be here with them.”
There was plenty of speculation as to why the leader was absent for so long. While she wouldn’t delve into specifics, she placed a significant emphasis on mental health and prioritizing self-care.
“I want people to realize that I’m not just an athlete,” she said. “I’m a human too. I go through things, we all go through things, and just being able to have so many people that were super supportive to me in this past week and a half really showed me a lot in who really cares for me.
“When you’re up, everybody loves you. When you’re down, you see who really loves you. So, just being able to have such supportive people that were here for me through a tough time was really important.”
Supporting cast played a crucial role in getting the star LSU women’s basketball forward back on the court
Often, one of the more difficult aspects about going through a trying time is learning who you can and can’t lean on for support.
In the past few weeks, Coach Kim Mulkey maintained silence regarding her star forward’s limited appearances. While some in the media perceived it as selfishness, others interpreted it as her protecting her players.
Regardless of what the true reasoning was, it’s clear that Angel Reese has no ill feelings toward the Tiger head coach. In the postgame press conference, she was asked if she was still glad to have Mulkey in her life. Her answer was emphatic.
“I’m going to say that today, tomorrow, next year, to the day I die,” responded the LSU women’s basketball forward. “I’m at LSU because of Kim Mulkey, and that’s just how I feel.”
Coach Mulkey, however, wasn’t the sole supporter during these past weeks. When asked about her support system while taking her break from basketball, she credited her mom and none other than LSU basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal.
“My mom, of course, but I talked to Shaq every day,” she explained. “We facetimed every day, he checked on me, he called me every single day to make sure I was good. And he told me every day, ‘this too shall pass, this too shall pass, this too shall pass.'”
Since rising to prominence during her tenure with the Tigers, LSU women’s basketball forward Angel Reese has been vocal about the support she’s received from the former star center. She even referred to him as “Uncle Shaq” late last season.
“He’s been here before, he knows what it takes. And just being able to have somebody like that was something that was really good for me. He told me when I was right, he told me when I was wrong, he told me what I needed to do to get back to where I am, and I know he’s probably going to call me after the game if he hasn’t already.”
It’s time to get back to basketball
With her return to the court, it appears that the Tiger program is finally transitioning back to basketball. More importantly, Angel Reese seems to have moved on and is ready to refocus on winning games.
“My mental health is the most important thing before anything. I’m going to make sure I’m okay before anything, because I don’t want to cause any harm or any cancer within the locker room.
“Being able to take a reset to myself – like I said before – I am human, I’m not just an athlete, and that’s okay to do. Pros do it all the time. So, whatever stories that were written, don’t believe everything you read.”
Both coach Kim Mulkey and the star junior faced plenty of criticism over the past few weeks. Unfortunately, the wide majority of that criticism came from speculation, as people assumed they knew what might be going on behind the scenes.
However, after last night’s 82-46 victory over Virginia Tech, the team made one thing clear: the Tigers aren’t playing games this season.
To conclude her long-anticipated media appearance, Angel Reese finished by sending out a message regarding her plans for the remainder of the season.
“I’m back, and I’m happy, and I’m here, and I’m moving forward, and I’m going to help take this team as far as I can.”
Thank you for reading LSU Glory. For more LSU Glory content, covering all things LSU athletics, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at [email protected] or direct message us on our Twitter account. It is thanks to your support that we can continue to grow into one of the fastest-growing and most influential LSU media outlets there is.
FOOTBALL5 days ago
FOOTBALL4 days ago
