Shayeann Day-Wilson missed LSU’s dominant 117-44 victory over Charleston Southern on Tuesday as the Tigers cruised to a 3-0 record on the young college basketball season.
Head coach Kim Mulkey seemed overly eager to answer questions about her new guard’s absence. “Is anyone gonna ask why didn’t Shayeann play?” she jokingly whispered to reporters on Tuesday. One of them took the bait, asking: “Why didn’t Shayeann play?”
Mulkey proceeded to sardonically bang the table and throw her arms in the air. “She got popped in the shoulder yesterday at practice, but I think [she still] could have played,” the longtime head coach answered. Instead, Mulkey elected to start true freshman Jada Richard. The five-foot-seven guard played 26 minutes and made all four of her shots as part of an 11-point and six-assist night.
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“She’s a point guard,” Mulkey answered when asked why Richard started. “Kayla [Mikaylah Williams] subbed at the point some, KG [Kailyn Gilbert] subbed at the point. Jada’s a true point guard.”
Day-Wilson spent last season with Miami after spending the first two years of her NCAA career at Duke. She averaged 11.9 points, 3.5 assists, and shot 36.8 percent from three for the Hurricanes in 2023-24.
Williams was the standout Tiger on the night, scoring 25 points on 10/16 shooting while grabbing six rebounds. Senior forward Anesseah Morrow was a force on the glasses, grabbing 20 rebounds in addition to her 21 points.
Mulkey’s LSU side is off to a 3-0 start in 2024-25 (
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Star Flau’hae Johnson, the 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year, continued to stake her claim as one of the finest players in the country with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Day-Wilson wasn’t the only player missing for the Tigers – senior Last-Tear Poa continued to be a key omission for Mulkey’s side. “Poa will be back on the practice floor tomorrow,” the LSU coach declared. “I don’t know when I will play her but it’s time for her to be back on the practice floor.”
The win over Charleston Southern capped off another routine victory for an LSU team yet to really challenge themselves this year – LSU’s other wins have come against Eastern Kentucky and Northwestern State.
LSU’s upcoming schedule is hardly any difficult. The Tigers will host Murray State on Friday before matchups against Troy, Tulane, Washington, and North Carolina Central. Mulkey’s players won’t face a top-five opponent until January 23 when they take on Dawn Staley’s dominant South Carolina side.
Mulkey is hoping to win another championship with LSU after leading the women’s basketball team to its first in 2023, beating Caitlin Clark’s Iowa 102-85 to claim hardware. Angel Reese is no longer part of the team after stepping up to the WNBA in 2024 to play for the Chicago Sky. Reese was named a WNBA All-Star during her debut season with the Sky.
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