Already locked into the SEC’s third seed for the upcoming tournament, Kim Mulkey opted to shut down star Flau’jae Johnson for LSU’s clash on Sunday against conference rivals Ole Miss.
An upstart Rebels team, guided by up-and-coming coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, took advantage to win 85-77 on the Tigers’ senior night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. This was Mulkey’s first conference loss as LSU coach to a team other than South Carolina (she took the job in 2021).
The 42-year-old McPhee-McCuin, in charge of a 19-9 Ole Miss side, spoke effusively of LSU and her coaching counterpart after the win.
“Just really appreciate the love that Baton Rouge has for their team,” she said. “They created a phenomenal environment.”
“I have a lot of respect for Kim Mulkey, so this was a big win for me,” McPhee-McCuin continued. “I aspire one day to be a Final Four coach. And honestly in my tenure, before Texas and Oklahoma came in, I’ve only not beaten two teams, and that’s LSU and South Carolina.”
“She creates her own rules,” McPhee-McCuin added about Mulkey, a four-time winning NCAA tournament head coach. “And she’s unapologetic about it.”
LSU’s star senior who did play, Aneesah Morrow, did not disappoint. The All-American candidate scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to become the second player in history with 100th career NCAA double-double.
Yolett McPhee-McCuin coached a clean game for Ole Miss against LSU on Sunday (
Getty Images)
“It all began in the second half,” Mulkey said of why her side blew a 15-point third-quarter lead. “Turnovers. You can’t win anything in sports by turning the ball over and we did it at the beginning of the third quarter and we did it at the beginning of the fourth quarter.”
Following a series of byes, LSU will face the winner of Alabama vs. Auburn/Florida in the SEC Tournament. Mulkey’s team lost to Alabama 88-85 in the penultimate game of the regular season.
The Tigers will be without Johnson for the tournament as she struggles with a shin inflammation. Mulkey said her star is “trying to mask the pain she’s in.”
“It’s not a stress fracture or anything like that. It’s just rest. We’ll get that inflammation down, and we’ll see the Flau’jae that we need to see when we start playoffs.”
Johnson, a 2024 Second-team All-SEC selection, is expected to return to the lineup ahead of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
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