Although No. 7 ranked LSU defeated Murray State 74-60, Tigers coach Kim Mulkey admitted to not being satisfied with the team taking their foot off the gas late in the second quarter, blaming only herself for the performance.
The Tigers outscored the Racers in the first quarter by 11, eight in the third quarter, and 15 in the fourth quarter to close out the victory. But LSU’s second quarter saw Murray State pour in 32 points and outscore the Tigers by a margin of 20 points.
“I think they got to a lot of loose balls. I think they got more rebounds than we did, and I’m going to have to look at the film to be exactly right [but] our bench got us the lead in the first quarter. So why did I not leave them in there,” said Mulkey as she questioned herself to the press. “As a coach, [it] might be on me because you usually go with kids that have been in your [starting] system.”
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“[They are who] you have the most confidence in. But the truth of the matter is at the end of the first, quarter who got us the lead? It wasn’t those kids that have been in the system,” she continued. “So I’m going to look at me first. The second thing is, I’m going to keep challenging some of [my players], because you can’t play his game and win like we want to win without post production.”
The Tigers’ nightmare of a second-quarter featured making just two of 18 attempts from the field in front of 10,181 home-court fans. LSU’s scoring drought lasted the first three minutes of the second quarter compared to the Racers, who poured in a quick eight points in that time frame, led by senior guard Ava Learn. They escaped with the win after surpassing a nine-point deficit.
Mulkey highlighted the post-play of 6-foot-1 versatile guard Aneesah Morrow, calling the senior a “warrior” despite an off-night shooting the ball with ten points on 4-of-11 shooting. Morrow had a team-high 14 rebounds in the game and led the team in minutes with 38 in the win. Flau’jae Johnson‘s 25 points carried the Tigers to victory, with ten points coming in the fourth quarter.
Aneesah Morrow was highlighted by Mulkey in the win (
Getty)
LSU scored 20 points in the paint and connected on just 6 of their 19 three-point attempts in the game. They committed 15 turnovers in the game, continuing a streak of double-digit giveaways in each of their games this season. In four games, the Tigers have turned the ball over 59 times and maintain a -6.5 turnover differential.
Despite the struggles, the Tigers remain undefeated with a 4-0 record and remain within striking distance of South Carolina, UConn, USC, and Texas for the top team in the nation. Mulkey’s Tigers next face Troy, 1- 3, at home on Monday night.
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