March is upon us and despite the veteran presence on the Tiger women’s basketball roster, several players are about to experience March Madness for the first time of their careers. Earlier this week, coach Kim Mulkey took some time to discuss her players and what the next few weeks could mean for the LSU women’s basketball freshmen such as Mikaylah Williams and Aalyah Del Rosario.
This group of LSU women’s basketball freshmen have been ready for the spotlight since stepping on campus
We’re entering a very new era of women’s college basketball. This is no longer the developmental league it once was, but instead, all around the country, freshmen are taking over the sport.
From JuJu Watkins at USC to Hannah Hidalgo at Notre Dame, first-year players are consistently taking over the spotlight and are thriving in it.
For the LSU women’s basketball freshmen, this is no different. All season long, whether it be guard Mikaylah Williams, center Aalyah Del Rosario, guard Janae Kent or point guard Angelica Velez, they’ve all found themselves in pressing situations, and have consistently stepped up to the plate when needed.
When the Tigers faced off against No. 9 Virginia Tech, guard Mikaylah Williams scored 20 points to go along with six rebounds, five assists and two steals in what was one of the best all around performances from anyone on the court that day.
Furthermore, following two losses in a row earlier in January, 6-foot-7 center Aalyah Del Rosario came in off the bench against Florida and put together an impressive 11 point, nine rebound, three block outing to help get the Tigers back on track.
Now, it’s just a matter of doing it when the lights are brightest in March Madness, and if you ask coach Kim Mulkey, they should be more than capable of taking care of business. When asked about the group of talented first-year players, the Tiger head coach took some time to reflect on her own experiences before getting into what the next few weeks could mean for the LSU women’s basketball freshmen.
“You try as a coach, when you’ve done it many times, you try to stay as excited as you were the first time you ever coached in an NCAA game, or in a postseason game, and you do it for those young ladies,” coach Mulkey said began while speaking with the media on Sunday.
“Not all of them in that locker room have ever done it before, and so you’re excited for them, and so when we get in the film room tomorrow, and we get on the court, we’ll do our usual cut up and then get to work,” she continued. “But yes, that’s why they came here. That’s why they came here. They want to taste that postseason – it’s just a fun time now.”
The Tigers have their first round matchup quickly approaching, as No. 3 LSU (28-5) will take on No. 14 Rice (19-14) in Baton Rouge on Friday, March 22. The game will take place at 3:00 p.m. CST and will be available to watch live on ESPN as they look to get 2024 March Madness off to a hot start.
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