Mulkey questions Tigers’ toughness after weak conference start

Mulkey, who has been coaching the Tigers since 2021 and began her coaching career 40 years ago at Louisiana Tech, is able to operate that way because she brings her own distinctive voice to the game. Though she was frustrated by a moment at the end of the game that went uncalled (Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes stepped out of bounds, but per NCAA rules, the moment was not reviewed because it was not called on the court during live play), she seemed even more frustrated by her own team.

The Tigers are now 0-2 in conference play, something that’s sparked conversation about the team’s relatively light non-conference schedule. When asked if she is rethinking the non-conference strategy, Mulkey told reporters — not really. “Probably a good thing that we did play that, right?” Mulkey said. “Because if we’d have played anything tougher, we might be sitting here with a lot of losses. A bunch of teams are knocking people off in conference all across the country.”

To that end, she is correct; at present, only four teams remain undefeated — Vanderbilt, UConn, Texas and Texas Tech.

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But, as Mulkey noted after Sunday’s game, LSU’s current woes go deeper than the non-conference schedule. Though the Tigers out-rebounded the Commodores, “we’re not talented enough to just out-talent people,” she admitted. “When you allow offensive rebounds or put teams on the foul line early, that’s discipline. Some of it is inexperience, but that’s an excuse. If you’re a baller, you’ve got to do your job. We’re not there yet.”

Though senior guard Flau’jae Johnson went scoreless against Vanderbilt (“I’d love to make an excuse for Flau’Jae,” Mulkey said), the entire team failed to meet the moment. “Listen, we’re not tough enough. Toughness is something you either have or you don’t, and right now we don’t. That’s on the whole locker room at different times,” she continued.

Back-to-back conference losses (the Tigers also fell 80-78 to the Kentucky Wildcats on Jan. 1) are tough, but January isn’t March, and LSU has plenty of time to regroup and recover. The road ahead is daunting, though, as the Tigers will meet Georgia, Texas and Oklahoma by mid-month.

If the Tigers hope to reverse course, the team will need to reckon with what’s not working and reinforce what is. “We can improve it, but you can’t just run drills and suddenly be tough. Toughness is mental and physical. It’s who you are,” Mulkey explained. “Maybe it comes with time, hard practices and longevity in the program.

“These first five games are as tough a stretch as I’ve ever coached,” she continued. “We’ve got to keep working and get better.”

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