As the LSU Tigers squad was shorthanded in its first exhibition game of the season, all eyes turned to a freshman. The four-star recruit, despite being the only first-year player in the squad, was lauded by LSU-alum Angel Reese at halftime giving the head coach Kim Mulkey ample reason to give more time to the upcoming star on the court. Result? The Lady Tigers eventually emerged victorious in the game.

In Thursday’s press conference after the game against Xavier, a happy Mulkey answered all questions related to the matchup, while also divulging that some of her core players are not fit enough to take the court. She also gave her point of view about the new recruit Jada Richard who committed to the LSU in April 2023. “Jada hitting her first two shots brings a lot of confidence. I thought for the only freshman and to be a freshman in this system, I didn’t think that she was bothered in the least,” Mulkey stated.

The 2024-25 LSU roster only has one freshman, who they decided to play against Xavier on Thursday night. Despite being the most inexperienced in the squad, Richard did not disappoint. Playing for about 22 minutes, she scored 14 points with 4 of 6 shooting from the field and the same number of free throws. What was special was that she hit 2 threes and scored in both of them. This particularly made Mulkey happy as her former mentee Reese had compared the freshman to herself.

The Chicago Sky’s No. 5 had tweeted at halftime when the Tigers had just started their scoring spree, opining that Richard resembled the 22-year-old. Now whether Reese was comparing Richard with her skills or just her style isn’t known, but seeing the guard perform brilliantly just set the tone for the Lady Tigers. “why i thought lil jada was me with the middle part bussdown😭🤣go head i see you sisterrrrr,” Reese had shared a picture of Richard celebrating on the court at halftime.

What must have made Mulkey happier was that Richard did not let the absence of other Tiger stars affect the team.

Lady Tigers are shorthanded, reveals Kim Mulkey

The Louisiana-based team played its first exhibition game against the Xavier on Thursday. However, the experienced Lady Tigers not taking the court was a surprise. While many felt that it was Mulkey who kept Sa’Myah Smith, Last-Tear Poa, Izzy Besselman, and Mikaylah Williams out of the court, the 62-year-old revealed that she had only kept Smith out of the contest while the others like Besselman could not ply their trade due to injuries.

“I’m going to answer it. Izzy Besselman has a heart condition, they’ve been dealing with all preseason. She’s seen four cardiologists. We’re going to do the best, we can. Don’t know anything… What’s causing it, or anything, okay? Mikaylah turned her ankle… day before yesterday. No reason to play her in a game like this. Poa is taking care of business off the floor, and I just chose not to play Sa’Myah,” Mulkey enunciated and when pressed for more details she repeated the same.

LSU were dependent on other stars, namely Flau’jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow, Jersey Wolfenbarger, Miracle Sheppard, and Richard, who fared exceptionally well in the game, helping the Lady Tigers win by a blowout margin of 114-53. It looks like even their opponents performed better in the second half since Reese tweeted that at that time, the score was 68-19. Nonetheless, they could not stop the 2023 NCAA Champions from having the last laugh.

While having an injury-laden roster is always a bad sight, it is great to see a freshman like Richard already taking responsibility for the team. Perhaps, Richard will continue covering up for the rest of the players, while Mulkey would be hoping that everyone recovers soon and realizes their dream of winning their second NCAA Championship.