Mulkey seeking to join elite company with repeat
In just under two weeks, the LSU women’s basketball team will open defense of its national championship with a matchup against Colorado in Las Vegas.
The Tigers are the preseason No. 1 team in the country, while the Buffaloes are ranked No. 20. Certainly, there will be plenty of excitement surrounding the first game of coach Kim Mulkey’s third season at LSU.
But, the ever-growing number of Tigers women basketball fans are hoping their team will still be playing five months later during the Women’s Final Four at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
Without a doubt, Mulkey will not be talking about LSU repeating as national champions now. As all coaches say, this team did not win any title to defend. Mulkey does have other goals on which this team can focus.
Remember, the Tigers did not win the Southeastern Conference championship last season. A 24-point loss at South Carolina prevented LSU from capturing the league title. LSU did not win the SEC tournament due to a two-point setback at the hands of Tennessee.
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The Tigers have not won the SEC championship in 16 seasons. LSU has not claimed the SEC tournament crown in 21 seasons. So, Mulkey has a way to keep the thoughts of her team’s talented players off the idea of a repeat.
Winning back-to-back national championships is difficult in any sport. Just three women basketball coaches have successfully defended a national title – USC’s Linda Sharp, Tennessee’s Pat Summitt and Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma.
Sharp’s USC teams won the national championship in 1983-84. Summitt’s Lady Vols delivered a three-peat from 1996-98 and won consecutive national crowns in 2007-08. Auriemma had three championship streaks – three in a row from 2002-04, two in a row in 2009-10 and four in a row from 2013-16.
That’s the lofty company which Mulkey can join if the Tigers accomplish what they are predicted to do – win the 2024 national championship.
Mulkey won three national titles at Baylor, but she only had two opportunities to repeat as champions. After winning the 2019 national crown, the 2020 NCAA tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19. The 2020 Baylor team had a 28-2 record when the season ended.
Baylor also won national championships under Mulkey in 2005 and 2012. Both the 2006 and 2013 teams were eliminated in the Sweet 16. So, Mulkey is quite familiar with the difficulty of the task of winning consecutive national titles.
Mulkey must develop chemistry on a team with a trio of multi-talented players – Angel Reese, Aneesah Morrow and Hailey Van Lith. Morrow and Van Lith were the best players for DePaul and Louisville, respectively, last season.
Just check last year’s numbers produced by these three players. Reese averaged 23 points and 15 rebounds a game for LSU. Morrow averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds for DePaul and Van Lith averaged 20 points, five rebounds and three assists for Louisville.
Mulkey has other players who are ready for the spotlight. Flau’Jae Johnson, who averaged 11 points and six rebounds for the Tigers last season, was one of the best freshmen in the SEC. Mikaylah Williams and Aalyah Del Rosario were rated among the top four high school players in the country last year.
Then, LSU returns three role players who are prepared to make greater contributions this season – Last-Tear Poa, Kateri Poole and Sa’Myah Smith. There are few, if any, teams in the country with such an impressive nine-player rotation.
Expectations are sky high for LSU. Ticket sales have gone through the roof. There are two very impactful contests on the home schedule – a non-conference game with Virginia Tech and a SEC contest with South Carolina. The Tigers beat Virginia Tech 79-72 in the national semifinals last season.
Mulkey has a more talented roster than the one which lost only two games and won the 2023 national championship. She will constantly harp on this team about reaching its own potential each and every game. This season will be more about LSU vs. LSU rather than LSU vs. its opponent.
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