Everything Kim Mulkey said after LSU's loss to Vanderbilt, 0-2 start

LSU lost to Vanderbilt 65-61 on Sunday evening, dropping to 0-2 in SEC play and forcing the Tigers to reflect. Head coach Kim Mulkey was unable to find the answers and her players failed to close the game in the final minutes once again.

MiLaysia Fulwiley, Jada Richard, ZaKiyah Johnson, and Mikaylah Williams were the four in double digits, but the Tigers offense shot just 43.1 percent from the field and had 22 turnovers, while making just three triples in the loss.

After the game, Mulkey met with media and discussed the loss and her outlook for the team. Here’s everything she said.

This your second conference loss. Are you looking back on your non-conference schedule at all?

“Not really. Probably a good thing that we did play that, right? Because if we’d have played anything tougher, we might be sitting here with a lot of losses. A bunch of teams are knocking people off in conference all across the country.”

Is that just how tough it is across the country?

“I think it’s a sign of parity, for sure. When you get into conference, we know each other so well. You take away what teams do well, and you have to go to your second, third, and fourth options. Then it gets physical. That’s just the way it is in conference.”

What’s the reason for the parity?

“Money, money, money, money. Have you been keeping up with college athletics? It’s called NIL.”

What was it that made Mikayla Blakes so hard to defend today?

I actually thought we did a good job on her. She’s a volume shooter — she’s going to shoot it. She shot it 25 times. I thought we really worked hard and made it difficult for her to score. I didn’t think we made it easy. You know what you’re getting with her.

What really killed us was their freshman. That’s what killed us. Compliments to her. I thought she got them over the hump and hit big shots.

On Flau’Jae’s zero-point performance…

“I’d love to make an excuse for Flau’Jae. I don’t know the extent of the ankle, but she did come out. I don’t know if they re-taped it or what. I don’t know how bad it is.”

Coach, the call with nine seconds left when Blake’s foot was clearly out of bounds — why wasn’t that reviewable, even without timeouts?

“I begged for it. I watched the same kind of thing in a UCLA game last year. I thought the dead ball would come. I tried to tell them it was critical. We get the ball back down three, I think. What can I do? All I can do is go over there and they tell me it’s not reviewable. I thought with the rule change it was reviewable. I don’t understand. I ask this a lot, when there’s a wrong out-of-bounds call, why isn’t it reviewable? There wasn’t a dead ball at that moment. I was screaming, and then there was a foul. If you go back to that moment, you don’t have the foul. I don’t know how you review something when there’s live action going on, other than screaming. And I tried.”

What led to the turnover issues today?

“Discipline. Fatigue. Focus. I’m complimentary of the opponent when they make spectacular plays, but 22 turnovers, most of them were by upperclassmen, for whatever reason.

We out-rebounded them, but the difference is they had 14 offensive boards, many late in the game when it was a possession game. We were up five or six, and in conference, possessions matter. We’re not talented enough to just out-talent people. When you allow offensive rebounds or put teams on the foul line early, that’s discipline. Some of it is inexperience, but that’s an excuse. If you’re a baller, you’ve got to do your job. We’re not there yet.”

Was the first-shot defense at least encouraging?

“First-half defense was as good as we’ve played in a long time. The scouting report was you’re not going to stop Blake, she’s a volume shooter, but make her work. She never gets tired. Mentally and physically, she’s as good as anyone I’ve seen.

I thought Jada Richard gave us everything she had. Galvan hit some critical shots. We’ve got to get better. We need self-reflection and accountability in possession games.”

Is there a length or size difference with the teams you’ve faced?

“In some spots. Kentucky had 6’5”, 6’6” players, but I didn’t think size beat us today. We missed a lot of layups. Listen, we’re not tough enough. Toughness is something you either have or you don’t, and right now we don’t. That’s on the whole locker room at different times.

We can improve it, but you can’t just run drills and suddenly be tough. Toughness is mental and physical. It’s who you are. Maybe it comes with time, hard practices, and longevity in the program.”

What’s your message going forward after these two losses?

“Watch the film. Show them it’s one possession. Then get on the floor, go to work, and get ready for the next game. These first five games are as tough a stretch as I’ve ever coached. We’ve got to keep working and get better.”