The Lady Tigers are on fire, pushing their winning streak to 15 games with a hard-earned victory against UAlbany. Kim Mulkey’s squad currently leads the SEC conference standings, but their latest game wasn’t without its challenges. LSU had a shaky start before rallying back with a powerful finish in the later quarters. Therefore, addressing the team’s ongoing adjustments, Coach Mulkey has now acknowledged the hurdles ahead.

In the post-game press conference, LSU head coach Kim Mulkey was asked about her team’s slow start against UAlbany, which led to several forced turnovers. Mulkey didn’t miss a beat with her response, showcasing her confidence in the team.

“Whether we won by a last second shot or we won by 20 or 30 or 40, we’re not going to be the type of team that just blows people out. We’ve got too many new pieces. We’ve got roles that have now changed. The longer we play together, the better we will get,” Mulkey told media. She emphasized that they’re still in the middle of a rebuilding process and need to regroup, yet they’ve managed to stay unbeaten.

After star player Angel Reese moved on to the pro stage in Chicago following last season, many expected LSU to face tough challenges. However, under the guidance of head coach Kim Mulkey, the team—bolstered by a mix of seasoned players and rising sophomores, including Flau’jae Johnson, last season transfer Aneesah Morrow, and Mikaylah Williams—has defied expectations. They’ve continued to dominate the tournament, racking up impressive wins along the way.

Nevertheless, Mulkey is keeping a watchful eye on the road ahead. Speaking about the tougher challenges her team will face, she shared, “The better teams we play, the better we will get, and we will see better teams in the SEC.” However, the Lady Tigers seem poised for the battles ahead, with Mulkey previously stating they’d use the week-long Christmas break to sharpen their skills and regroup.

Kim Mulkey Mulkey calls for defensive improvement, utilizing the week-long break

Before heading into their week-long break, the Lady Tigers wrapped up with a dominant 91-73 win over UIC. However, head coach Kim Mulkey didn’t hold back when addressing her team’s flaws in the post-game interview. “Defense, we gotta get better defensively. We don’t defend like it matters, we defend like we’re better than you and we’re gonna outscore you and that just bothers me,” Mulkey had said.

The LSU Tigers have been stellar offensively, but their defense continues to be a concern for head coach  Mulkey. Allowing Illinois-Chicago to shoot over 40% from the field didn’t sit well with her. Addressing the defensive struggles, Mulkey made it clear that she holds her team to higher standards on that end of the court.

“You work on it when you get back from the holidays, you work on it, you make it important, you have all of them buy into it, get in a stance and we’ve got to get back to being a better defensive team. They shot 40 percent from the field, you’re not going to win many games when teams do that,” the head coach said.

While that number improved slightly to 37.5% in their latest outing, it’s still higher than Mulkey would like. LSU is set to face Arkansas on Saturday, January 2. With Mulkey emphasizing that the team is still coming together, it’ll be intriguing to see how they approach this matchup.