The LSU women's basketball team went into its matchup with No. 4 Texas on a seven-game SEC win streak, which included a statement win over the Longhorns. The Tigers weren't able to get the better of their opponent in the rematch, however, as Texas decisively beat the No. 5 seed 77-64 for a revenge victory.
A Tigers team that has passed the 100-point mark in 12 games this season fell well short of that for multiple reasons while taking on the Longhorns on the road. After the game, LSU head coach Kim Mulkey discussed where her team missed the mark against Texas, according to the Lafayette Daily Advertiser's Cory Diaz.
“I think [the LSU players] lost their composure a little bit. It's the timing of the turnovers, it's the timing of the bad shots. I guess you could use the word frustrated,” Mulkey explained.
“[Texas] didn't seem to stop playing hard. The first three or four minutes of the fourth quarter, we had two shot attempts, and we had five turnovers. To me, that's composure. Give Texas credit, they created that.”
Mulkey wasn't done pointing out her team's mistakes, though. She continued on to comment about the level of play it takes to contend with a squad as formidable as the Longhorns'.
“It wasn't just about turnovers, it was shot selection. That to me is as good as a turnover, just taking poor shots. When you play Texas, they're going to be full-court press for 40 minutes. That's not going to go away, and you just have to take care of the ball. I thought they were good. They were hungry and very effective,” Mulkey said.
“I thought at the half we were outrebounding them. If you had told me at the half we were outrebounding them and some of the statistical things we did better than them, I would've thought we had been up maybe double digits, but we weren't. In the second half, they went to the boards, extended the lead, got to the foul line,” Mulkey added. “It was a hard-fought game, but you knew it was going to be.”
Mulkey also chose to highlight one of her players despite an off-game, however. She singled out standout transfer MiLaysia Fulwiley for her impact on the court, even though she was limited to just nine points and five assists.
“[Fulwiley] brings you a spark, she brings you speed and quickness. She missed a couple of layups wide open tonight. Six turnovers, you can't beat anybody good having six turnovers, but she was trying to make things happen. She's trying to play two positions, one minute I got her at the point, then the next minute I have her on the wing. I'm glad I get to coach her,” Mulkey said.
As conference play and the NCAA regular season begin to wind down, LSU has another chance to make a dominating statement against Auburn on Sunday.
