Why was LSU HC Kim Mulkey absent from postgame interview after win vs Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns?
As a high-profile coach in the world of college basketball, LSU coach Kim Mulkey was bound to be in the headlines one way or another. This time, she was in the headlines because there was an event she couldn't attend.
Following Sunday's 85-57 victory over Louisiana, Mulkey was nowhere to be seen for the No. 4 Tigers' postgame press conference. The team's spokesperson revealed the reason she was unable to attend while having an assistant coach take her place.
"Kim Mulkey was under the weather after the game, so Bob Starkey's going to fill in," the LSU spokesperson said.
LSU cruised to blowout victory over Louisiana despite issues
Kim Mulkey's LSU squad did a lot right in its 28-point win over Louisiana. However, the Tigers did some things wrong that held them back on occasion.
Assistant coach Bob Starkey expressed as much during the postgame press conference, specifically pointing out the numerous turnovers the Tigers committed.
"I thought we were desperately in need of a spark today," Starkey said. "We were, as a staff, disappointed with the way our team played today. We've been imploring them to start games quicker. We tend to start slow.
"So in the first half, I thought we did a nice job of defending them, but we were just atrocious offensively — 17 turnovers ... it was just very sloppy. We're disappointed our fans had to watch that. Then we clean up the turnovers a little bit, but we can't guard, and we can't keep them in front of us. So, we just didn't have a very good performance."
Despite the issues, their record does not seem to show that with a perfect 12-0 record at the moment. On offense, they are putting up 93.7 points on 49% shooting from the field and 34.3% from beyond the arc. On defense, they hold opponents to 57.7 points on 32.4% shooting overall and 24% from downtown.
Four players score in double digits with three having 15 or more points per game. Flau'jae Johnson leads the way with 21.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists. Aneesah Morrow averages a double-double of 17.8 points and 13.7 rebounds, while Mikaylah Williams puts up 15.8 points and 4.8 rebounds.
Kim Mulkey and No. 4 LSU will look forward to their next matchup on the road, playing Seton Hall at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET.