Everything Kim Mulkey said after the Tigers' hearts were broken on their Valentine's date versus South Carolina

Saturday night, LSU lost to South Carolina 72-79. Here’s everything Women’s basketball head coach Kim Mulkey had to say after the highly contested affair.

Did being out there practicing hard 90 minutes before tip-off affect the legs of your team at all?

“I’m not aware of that. I’ll check into that. They’re supposed to be out there one hour ahead of time, doing about ten minutes of shooting.” (Players said they followed their normal routine.)

What did you think of Flau’jae (Johnson) tonight?

NEW! Message board for South Carolina Women’s Basketball! 🏀

“The same thing, I think of her every time I get to coach her, what a blessing it is to have her. Now you will focus on those last two free throws; we missed nine. There’s your difference in the ball game. Look at the stat sheet, we scored the same number of field goals. We outrebounded them nine, and we were 14 of 23 from the foul line. That’s where the game was lost: make your free throws, you win.”

You brought in Bella Hines late in the third quarter. What did you see from her?

“I saw a kid who I need to play more. She needs to take away some of the minutes of some of them because she got out there and guarded Tessa (Johnson). She wasn’t afraid to bow up to her, and she made shots. She had a lot of energy and effort; she has my respect.”

Your team is known for making free throws down the stretch, where do you think the misses came from tonight?

“I’m not really sure. If I knew that, I’d be in psychology. I have no idea. Got to the free throw line, so reward yourself, reward yourself.”

Did they do a good job on Mikaylah (Williams)?

“I’d have to look at the film. I don’t know that she was guarded any differently than the rest of them were guarded. I know Raven (Johnson) was on her a lot, and Raven is an experienced national championship guard who played 36 minutes. But look, Mikaylah five for 12, Jada (Richard) one for 10, (MiLaysia Fulwiley) one for eight, and you still had a chance to win the game. I thought (Amiya Joyner) played one of her finer games. Bella came in and gave us a spark. Got to move on, get ready for the next game.”

What did you see from Amiya Joyner and what does she need to keep bringing?

“Rebound the ball. She gave us many opportunities. She battled in there; she rebounded the ball. She had the big girl for South Carolina, 11 (Madina Okot). Both those kids, they were rebounders, and they both had double-figure rebounds. She played a really, really good game. I thought the crowd was outstanding; it was pretty loud in there.”

What was the difference tonight and how did you like how your team attacked the boards tonight?

“I liked everything we did, except I didn’t like the way we guarded Tessa. We didn’t do what we were told to do for three days. You can’t do anything about free throws, and if you look at the stat sheet, I can’t be too critical of many things. We didn’t turn it over much, but we outrebounded them. We got to the foul line more than them. We’re not two for 12 from three, and we still had a chance to win the ball game. 44 seconds to go, you take the lead and make one defensive stop, and we’re sitting here celebrating. This game is tough.

And you, if you did get that many rebounds. You would think you’re going to win. But that’s not the only thing. When I look at that stat sheet, ours is so good. Well, why’d you lose, coach? Because of the free throws.”

What do you think of your freshman group and how they’ve been when they’ve gotten their opportunity in SEC play?

“They’re very talented, they’re very competitive. They’re not afraid to fail. They’re very comfortable, and in this day and age, if those kids stay together, they’re going to be very special. But you just never know, but man, I sure am enjoying coaching them.”

What did you like about Jada going against Raven early on?

“Jada had to guard several of them on the perimeter. Jada is just going to continue to get better and better. She had some open looks that she normally knocks down, and she didn’t. I thought for the most part, she’s trying to grow and lead us as a point guard. Make the right pass to the right people. Jada is a good player; she’s just a sophomore out there guarding seniors. She’s guarded some really good players in our league this year, and I think that’s going to be so valuable to her as she continues to play at this level.”

Nine missed free throws, ten missed layups, how did the little things hold you back?

“I might’ve shared it with you guys a couple of months ago. It’s only one possession coach. Don’t get all upset because I failed to block out or on this free throw, or I had that turnover. They all add up. We really, really had an opportunity to win this game tonight.”

Given the little things and the nature of a close game, what’s the prevailing emotion, do you think, for you in the locker room?

“We’re not in there celebrating. I hope kids are hurting. I hope that if you’re a competitor, you’re hurting individually. And then collectively, it’s our job as coaches when we get back on the practice floor to make sure we get them back in the right mindset to keep winning a few more basketball games. We’ll see, we’ll see. They’ve done it all year, so I hope that they’ll continue to do it as we finish February and head into March Madness.”

🏀 GamecocksW newsletter: WBB coverage delivered straight to your inbox!

What was your advice to Fulwiley on how to handle all of this?

“I didn’t just sit with her and have a one-on-one conversation. I think I just coached her in front of her teammates, and I hope she has butterflies because if she has butterflies, it means she’s invested in this program, and she’s excited. Don’t try to do too much. Just play. I thought she did typical Fulwiley. Give you some outstanding plays, stripped Raven early in the game. Got some layups, but then she turned it over. And that’s part of who she is. We’ve got to continue to make positives be pluses when she’s in the ballgame and not minuses because she has tremendous quickness. She has just things that she does naturally.”

How do you assess this team this far into February?

“Look at the four losses. Probably, and go from there. And go, what did we do in each of those games to lose the game? Teach them the game, lift them back up, keep them confident. But eight new players, whatever we are, 20-something and four. My assessment would be to keep doing what you’re doing; we’re this close to winning in some of those games against people you’re not supposed to beat.

And we did this year. I mean, didn’t we beat Texas here? We weren’t supposed to win that game. So just keep plugging away, stay in the right mindset, and understand that there’s a lot of basketball left to be played after the regular season.”

What’s the update on ZaKiyah Johnson after not playing as much in the second half?

“No, just a decision. I went with, and then I moved Mikaylah inside. But I do appreciate you asking that because that’s one of the things I think about as a coach, should I have given her, you know, some minutes there. You can’t second-guess yourself now, but I do. I always go back and think about what I could have done to help us win this ball game. Can’t shoot a free throw for them, and I can’t pass it. But I can make the right substitutions and things like that. But we did fine as a coaching staff tonight. The coaching staff was very good, very helpful, very engaged. You’ve got to always make sure you have the right people guarding that. And they go back and look at it and go, why don’t you do some of the things we wanted you to do on Tessa. and hold them accountable. Hold them accountable.”

LSU will hit the road against another ranked opponent on Thursday. The Tigers travel to Oxford to take on the No. 14-ranked Ole Miss Rebels.

NEW! Message board for South Carolina Women’s Basketball!