LSU coach Kim Mulkey insists she has full focus on March Madness Sweet 16 showdown with UCLA today… as Washington Post’s mystery ‘hit piece’ continues to weigh heavy
- Mulkey and LSU will face the second seed Bruins on Saturday in Albany, NY
- This all comes as the school and Mulkey wait for an article in the Washington Post
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Despite winning last year’s national championship, the LSU Tigers women’s basketball team under head coach Kim Mulkey enters their Sweet 16 game as underdogs.
The third-seeded Tigers will play the two-seed UCLA Bruins in Albany, New York on Saturday at noon – all with the expectation that the team could lose this game.
All of this also comes as a dark cloud hangs over the program — with the coach, players and administrators all awaiting the publication of a Washington Post article about Mulkey that she has preemptively dubbed a “hit piece.”
But Mulkey emphasizes that the team’s focus right now is on the game against the Bruins and not on the newspaper coverage.
“Look, (UCLA should) win the game,” Mulkey told reporters in Albany. “They are the second seed, we are the third seed. But we’re not leaving. We’re going to fight hard.’
LSU coach Kim Mulkey says she isn’t distracted by the Washington Post’s upcoming article
Star Angel Reese Says: ‘This Isn’t the Worst Thing That Happened to Us This Season’
In the meantime, the team – with Haley Van Lith – must focus on second seed UCLA on Saturday
Speaking specifically about the Post article, she later added, “I made a statement, and that’s the only thing I’m going to respond to right now because all I’m focused on is trying to win another basketball game. I’m just here today to talk about the game.”
That statement was more like a four-minute rant, which also included threatening to sue the newspaper if the article was released.
LSU players say they aren’t distracted – with star Angel Reese saying it’s just one mistake in a long line of mistakes the team has faced this season.
“This isn’t the worst thing that’s happened to us this season,” Reese said. ‘If you’ve been keeping up, you know a lot more things have come our way. Add something to the book. Add one more thing to the list.
‘So we don’t get distracted. We are still focused on the main goal and that is one thing at a time.’
Meanwhile, the task is to find a way to get past the Bruins, which could set up a potential title rematch with Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Elite Eight.
“We’re kind of playing the mind game with ourselves that everyone wants us to get knocked out,” transfer guard Haley Van Lith said.
‘Everyone thinks they can beat us. Everyone doesn’t think we’re going to win. So that’s where we put our energy, because ultimately that will motivate us to achieve the best results.’