Kim Mulkey's Take: LSU Women's Basketball vs. South Carolina Gamecocks Takeaways

Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey, LSU Tigers Women’s Basketball take on the South Carolina Gamecocks at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, LA. Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kim Mulkey's Take: LSU Women's Basketball vs. South Carolina Gamecocks Takeaways

Originally posted on LSU Tigers on SI | By Zack Nagy | Last updated Feb 15, 2026 3:00 PM ET

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Kim Mulkey and the LSU Tigers were unable to get over the hump down the stretch against Dawn Staley's South Carolina squad with the Gamecocks capturing a 79-72 win on Saturday night in Baton Rouge.

Flau’jae Johnson led the LSU scoring attack with 21 points while recording eight rebounds and one assist while Mikaylah Williams was the Tigers’ only other double-digit scorer, finishing with 11 points on the night.

Following the showdown in front of 13,200 fans inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Mulkey took the podium to dissect her team's performance.

Kim Mulkey's Take: LSU's Loss to SC

Flau'Jae Johnson's Performance on Saturday:

“The same thing I think every time I get to coach her. What a blessing it is to have her. You’ll focus on those last two free throws, but we missed nine total. That’s the difference in the ballgame. Look at the stat sheet — we scored the same number of field goals and out-rebounded them by nine. They went 14-for-23 from the foul line. That’s where the game was lost.”

Bella Hines' Showing:

“I saw a kid I need to play more. She needs to take some minutes from others. She guarded Tessa, wasn’t afraid to get up on her, made shots, and played with energy and effort. She has my respect.”

Mikaylah Williams' Performance:

“I’d have to watch the film. I don’t know that she was guarded differently. Raven was on her a lot, she’s an experienced national championship guard who played 36 minutes.

Mikaylah went 5-for-12, Jada was 1-for-10, Lay was 1-for-8, and we still had a chance to win the game. Bella gave us a spark. Now we’ve got to move on and get ready for the next one.”

When you get 18 offensive rebounds, you usually win. What was the difference tonight?

“I liked almost everything we did except how we guarded Tessa. We didn’t do what we were told for three days. Other than free throws, I can’t be too critical. We didn’t turn it over much, we out-rebounded them, and we got to the foul line more. We were 2-for-12 from three and still had a chance to win. With 44 seconds left, we had the lead. Make one defensive stop and we’re celebrating.

This game is tough. When you get that many rebounds, you think you’ll win, but that’s not the only thing that matters. Look at the stat sheet, it’s good. Why’d you lose? Look at the free throws.”

This article first appeared on LSU Tigers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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