The LSU women's basketball team ended the 2025 half of its season undefeated, but it wasn't able to bring that win streak into the new year when it faced off against Kentucky on Thursday night. The No.5-ranked team started the new year in gut-wrenching fashion as Tonie Morgan hit a 3-pointer with just 0.5 seconds left to give No. 11 Kentucky an 80-78 win over the Tigers.
Morgan, a transfer from Georgia Tech, was the Wildcats' leading scorer with a 24-point, 12-rebound double-double. The Tigers also gave up 18 points, including five 3s, to Asia Boone and 16 boards to Teonni Key, who added 17 points.
Mikaylah Williams led LSU in scoring with 26 points, followed by Flau'jae Johnson with 15 and Jada Richard and Amiya Joyner, who put up 14 each. Williams had been the one to put the Tigers ahead 78-77, hitting three clutch shots from the line with 18.5 seconds remaining, but that wasn't enough to slow down the Wildcats, which she expressed to the media after the contest.
“The best teacher is experience. We have this game under our belt; we can continue to learn from this and grow. We know what it takes to eventually come out on top. We know we need to rebound and play defense,” Williams said postgame, according to Tiger TV reporter Jesse Earls III.
“That's just the taste of the SEC,” Williams added. “It's physical. People jump higher than you, they're bigger than you, they're stronger than you. You just have to figure out ways to get your job done.”
Head coach Kim Mulkey also gave her thoughts after the game, speculating on the mistakes made that led to LSU's first loss of the campaign. “We don't block out, that's one thing. They're taller than we are, so you better put a body on them,” Mulkey said. “We think we're going in there, outjump, outleap somebody, you're not going to do this in this league.”
The Tigers have led the nation in average points per game so far this season with 108, and nearly half of that mark has come from second-chance and fast-break points. These are two areas LSU struggled in versus Kentucky, losing the rebound battle for just the second time this season, 45-29, while only notching four second-chance and 13 fast-break points.
“If you had told me I would've been outrebounded with this group I have, there's no way I would've believed you. But that goes back to experience, it goes back to toughness, and we got to get better,” Mulkey said.
“I don't know that I've ever had a team that [was] scored on after a free-throw rebound. Three times tonight that happened,” Mulkey added. “That was the problem all night long. We couldn't get the rebound where we could run. The entire game was lost because of rebounding.”
The defeat put a damper on a night that started with cheers for new LSU football coach Lane Kiffin, who attended the game and even walked in hand-in-hand with Mulkey in what looked like a symbolic show of LSU coaching power. Luckily, the Tigers' faithful fanbase won't have to wait long to see their team's attempt to bounce back, as LSU is set to take on No. 12 Vanderbilt on Sunday.
