You could feel the tension. Kim Mulkey was restless on the sidelines, the crowd was living and dying with every possession, and this last year’s Sweet 16 re-match was scrappy, intense, and edge-of-your-seat kind of stuff. Those final minutes? Pure chaos. When the dust settled, the Bruins had done it. They got their revenge, knocking out the team that ended their run last season in a winning 72-65 Elite Eight effort. And honesty, the Lady Tigers were never the favorites here. The only thing Cori Close’s squad was worried about, as Janiah Barker put it– Could Mulkey “Scare the refs?” Well, the opposite happened. 

After years of knocking on the door under coach Close, the Bruins have officially busted through. After a thrilling and exciting season with the HC, the program will enter its first-ever Final Four. Lauren Betts made sure of it, dropping 17 points. Kiki Rice stepped up when it mattered. Betts, Gabriel Jaquez, and Timea Gardiner combined for 48 points. Everything was clicking for UCLA. But you know what’s got fans talking? The officiating.

In the 40 minutes, LSU was called 21 times to UCLA’s 15. The only positive thing was that the Lady Tigers were able to convert 10 of their 12 free throws. But contrastingly, even though Bruins’ 71.4% free throw conversion was not good, they did get 28 free throws, only throwing off LSU bleak momentum if there was any after the first quarter. And then things got only worse for Mulkey as they entered the final 10 minutes with a 5-point deficit.

The last few minutes felt a little… suspect. Calls were flying, and somehow, they all seemed to go UCLA’s way. In the final quarter, LSU got whistles 10 times of their total 21 foul calls. On the other hand, UCLA got only 4. Even the free throw distribution was black and white. The Lady Tigers only received four visits to the charity stripe while the Bruins went to the free throw line for 15 times. And just like that, the Bruins held on.

No wonder LSU fans were furious. And this isn’t even the first time. Remember the NC State game? People were already side-eyeing the refs, saying LSU was getting called for everything. They still handled business back then, but this time, it actually cost them.

LSU’s defense came out swinging, holding UCLA to just nine first-quarter points. But then, the second quarter came and the Bruins flipped the switch. A 12-2 run later, they were in control. By halftime, UCLA was 31-25. And once the second half started, the lead just kept growing.

The Lady Tigers weren’t going down without a fight, though. Flau’jae Johnson went off in the third quarter. Johnson and Aneesah Morrow battled like warriors, dropping a combined 43 points. However, just like Mulkey said in the post-game presser, “The game was lost in the second quarter. That’s where the game was lost.”

After receiving two fouls, Betts was benched for the entirety of the second quarter. The perfect chance for Mulkey and Co. to use the opportunity as blow up the game with their offense. However, instead of using the same to their advantage and playing like they did in the 13-9 first quarter, UCLA led by 22-12.

In the end, despite Flau’Jae’s efforts as Morrow left the hardwood post her collision with Mikaylah Williams, it wasn’t enough. And now, the Tigers are returning back home from the Elite 8 for a second straight year. And a whole lot of fans are convinced it wasn’t just UCLA that beat them—it was the refs, too.

Kim Mulkey and LSU robbed?

While LSU could have done much better, understood their offensive flaws quicker and worked on them as they took 67 shots but only made 25, the calls against the officials only grew because those final minutes felt like the Bruins were getting the benefit of every call. LSU had finally started to claw its way back, Big 4 was finding her groove, and the Tigers were within five with 4:36 left on the clock. And then? Disaster struck in the form of fouls.

Suddenly, LSU was drowning in calls while UCLA just skated through. “refs doing LSU so dirty man,” one fan said, and, well, a whole lot more echoed the same sentiment. 

The most controversial moment? That out-of-bounds call. “These refs in this LSU and UCLA game are cheating , just want UCLA to win. kiki rice kicks the ball out of bounds and it still is UCLA ball?! how does that make any sense,” another added. LSU’s defense had finally rattled Betts, forcing UCLA into turnovers left and right in the last quarter. The Tigers had clawed back within one possession—momentum was shifting.

Then came the foul call that sent the Bruins center to the line and bumped the lead back up to four. But the refs weren’t done. Just moments later, the ball clearly bounced off a UCLA player’s foot and rolled out. Easy call, right? Instead of handing the ball to LSU, they awarded possession to UCLA. And because it happened just outside the two-minute review window, the call stood with no chance at going to the screen.

Fans couldn’t believe it. “The refs are doing everything to give UCLA the win s— !! #LSU,” a third chimed in. Let’s n0t forget foul call contrasts. UCLA finished the game with 15 fouls but LSU? A whopping 21, most of them raining down in the final quarter, right as the Tigers were heating up. The game ended with Kiki Rice draining 2 free throws off of Williams’ foul before Johnson’s last try at a long three and UCLA’s rebound.

Now, few predicted Mulkey’s presence on the sideline didn’t add fuel to the fire. She showed up in an iconic blazer decked out in flashy purple flowers. And while, obviously, her outfit had nothing to do with the officiating, one fan couldn’t help but joke, “The ref saw that purple jacket and thought it was off LSU.” 

But here’s the thing. Whether it’s Mulkey’s sideline antics or just bad blood with officials, it really feels like LSU got the short end of the stick. And not for the first time. Which brings us to the bigger issue: The NCAA’s officiating system. As a fan put it, “the refs just cheated lsu out of a game. and because the ncaaw is so backwards…we don’t have challenges. wow lol.”

The WNBA has Coach’s Challenges—If the team disagrees with a call, they can challenge it. And if they lose, they forfeit a timeout. If they are correct, they hold to their challenge for another use. Simple, fair, and at least teams have some control. But the NCAA doesn’t have it yet. Coaches like Mark Pope have been calling for it for a few months now. And, honestly, games like this just prove how much it’s needed. A bad call in crunch time should be reviewable. Period.

But what’s done is done. LSU’s season is over, and the focus now shifts to the offseason. Expect Mulkey and the Tigers to be aggressive in the transfer portal. They’ve got the pieces to retool and make another run in 2026. Meanwhile, the Bruins march on to the Final Four, where they’ll face the winner of UConn vs. USC Elite Eight matchup.