Kim Mulkey has had many memorable firsts this season as LSU’s head women’s basketball coach this season and her first SEC tournament game is one she’d just as soon forget.
Seventh-seeded Kentucky, projected as one of the last four teams in the NCAA tournament field, likely punched its bid to Big Dance with its 78-63 SEC tourney quarterfinal bid over uninspired No. 2 seed LSU Friday night in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
With LSU’s defense giving UK All-SEC guard Rhyne Howard open looks, she scored 19 of her game-high 32 points in the first half when the Wildcats (17-11) built a stunning 20-point halftime.
The Tigers (25-5) tried to rally behind All-SEC guard Khayla Pointer’s 27 points but couldn’t string together enough to defensive stops to cut the UK lead past nine points late in the third quarter.
“They came out and punched us in the mouth really,” Pointer said. “They were pretty much hitting every shot they took. We kind of just had to battle. We were choosing who we wanted to give the shots to. We lost Rhyne a couple times in transition. We got ourselves in a really, really big hole and it was kind of tough to get out of that.
Kentucky’s 45-25 halftime advantage wasn’t a fluke or a team merely shooting 54.8 from the field and 61.5 percent in 3-pointers. The Wildcats played with the requisite intensity and desperation of a team knowing it needed stockpile as many wins as possible in this tourney to rally to earn an NCAA tournament bid.
“I’m proud of this team’s resiliency and toughness,” Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy said. “She (Howard) put us on her back and we had a lot of people step up.’
LSU, on other hand, with a 25-win regular season, a second-place finish in the SEC and playing without injured starter Alexls Morris, seemed a step slow in every facet of the game.
The Tigers trailed 10-8 with 3:46 left when UK hit 4 of 4 3-pointers in a 15-5 first quarter closing run for a stunning 25-13 lead. Howard accounted for 11 points in the period closing scoring burst – “I’m usually not that open for shots,” she said.
“They just came out on fire,” Mulkey said. “I watched them play the previous games and they have all their parts back. They have everybody healthy, you know, and they've been on a run. We didn't fold our tent. We kept trying to get back in the game. Just give them credit. Give them credit. They're on a roll right now."
LSU’s guards Pointer, Jailin Cherry and Ryann Payne scored 23 of LSU’s first half points. Backup center Hannah Gusters had the other bucket as Gusters and starting post players Autumn Newby and Faustine Aifuwa were a combined 1 for 9 from the field.
The Tigers had a size advantage and began to make an earnest effort to get the ball inside in the third quarter. LSU turned up the defensive pressure and Pointer began flying through UK’s man to man defense.
LSU closed the period on a 13-5 run, Pointer had 11 of the Tigers’ 22 points in the quarter and UK’s lead was reduced to 11 points at 57-46 entering the final quarter.
Kentucky cooled the Tigers switching to a 2-3 defensive zone designed to stop Pointer’s penetrations and force her to pass to teammates. This may been the part of the game LSU mostly missed Morris, the team’s best 3-point shooter.
LSU was trailing 70-58 with 1:36 left when Pointer shot a deep corner 3-pointer in front of the Tigers’ bench. UK’s Jazmine Massengill tried to block the shot, crashed into Pointer and landed on top of her.
Mulkey was expecting a foul call on Massengill with Pointer awarded three free throws. But referee Billy Smith immediately signaled Pointer had stuck out her foot to create contact.
As Smith ran past the LSU bench, an irate Mulkey ran on the court and screamed at Smith who immediately whistled her for a technical.
“I thought she got fouled after the shot,” Mulkey said of Pointer. did not get fouled when she went up. But it's been a point of emphasis we've had it called on us two or three times this year. I thought after contesting (the shot), she (Massengill) just laid on top of Khayla.”
The loss likely didn’t hurt LSU’s projected No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament when the bracket is announced a week from Sunday. The Tigers most certainly will host first and second round play with action starting March 18.
Mulkey is counting on the extra rest giving Morris more time to heal a strained MCL she sustained in her left knee early in LSU’s regular season home finale vs. Alabama on Feb. 24. Teammate Cherry accidently fell into Morris’ knee after taking a charge.
“We missed Alexis not being out there on the offensive end and defensive end for that matter,” Mulkey said. “We've got to wait until the NCAA playoffs to play her. I'm not playing her until the playoffs because that gives her a good four to five weeks to make sure she's strong.”
