With just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter of LSU's SEC Tournament Semifinal Game against Ole Miss, second-year Tiger Last-Tear Poa was taken off of the court on a stretcher.
Poa squared up to take a charge in transition and fell down, hitting the back of her head and suffering a concussion.
She ultimately needed a stretcher to be taken off the floor and was transported to St. Francis Hospital in Greenville to undergo further tests.
Poa had feeling in all extremities and the CT scan came back negative.
Following the collision, Poa was awake and responsive and was discharged from the hospital that night.
“As I was walking to [last Saturday's] press conference, the trainer told me the CT scan came back clean so that’s wonderful news,” Coach Kim Mulkey said after the title game. “I spoke to her mother, of course she’s from Australia.
“She was just a little bit unresponsive is how I would describe it. She could squeeze your hand lightly. She could tell you she could feel her legs. But she couldn’t really articulate good enough for you not to be afraid. The kids were right there and they saw it all.”
“We were just trying to keep the team together as much as possible because Poa would want us to stay together,” Angel Reese said. “Poa would want us to play hard and do this for her and win this game and play tough. She is one of the toughest players on our team so being to fight for her; we hit a couple tough shots and kept saying, that’s for Poa, that’s for Poa.”
LSU held a six point lead when Poa went down and came together to finish the game victorious against Ole Miss to advance to the SEC Tournament Championship.
“Honestly, I don’t give a damn about the game at that point,” Coach Mulkey said. “I really don’t. That’s somebody’s child. That’s my player and those are my players in that huddle. When I got to the huddle it was bad. It was just very, very emotional. I think Angel spoke up. I think Hailey (Van Lith) spoke up saying, ‘we’ve gotta get through this. We’ve got to finish the game.’ They dug deep. It was one of the more gutsy performances of a team I’ve ever coached.”
After scans and other testing, Poa was diagnosed with a concussion and returned to Baton Rouge with the program.
"She's better every day. I think she told me she got on the treadmill, maybe today," Mulkey said on Sunday after the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. "We're gonna try to do some individual workouts, so that's a great sign."
Now, nearly two weeks after the incident, she's practicing with the Tigers and "should be good to go" on Friday, Mulkey said on Thursday.
"She's better every day. I think she told me she got on the treadmill, maybe today," Mulkey said on Sunday after the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. "We're gonna try to do some individual workouts, so that's a great sign."
As she continues getting back on the court for workouts, it's a positive sign for the defending National Champions as they begin their journey for more hardware.
Poa released a video via Instagram of her recovery, saying:
"I just wanted to update you guys about my recovery. I've been sleeping and spending more time with my family. I just wanted to thank my trainers, my doctors, my teammates and the basketball community for all their love and support, and the prayers I've been receiving. I'm looking forward to getting back on the court, and seeing you guys soon. Go Tigers."
No. 3 seeded LSU takes on No. 14 Rice on Friday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center at 3 p.m. CT in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament.
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