In Sunday’s NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game, third-seeded LSU women’s basketball fell short of a comeback against UCLA. The Bruins advanced to their first Final Four in program history with a 72-65 victory.
The Tigers failed to capitalize on a golden opportunity to build a strong lead in the second quarter with Lauren Betts on the bench. The All-American forward sat the entire 10 minutes after picking up two fouls in the first.
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Much like the first quarter, LSU struggled to score and create turnovers. UCLA caught fire from beyond the arc, draining four of their six three-point attempts and shooting 50% from the field. It led 31-25 at the half despite the absence of Betts.
The Tigers faced as much as a 14-point deficit in the third quarter but put together a 9-2 run in the back half of the frame. They trailed by five heading into the final 10 then Flau’Jae Johnson came alive.
After scoring eight points in the third, the junior guard scored 16 points in the fourth quarter. An 8-0 run and six UCLA turnovers cut LSU’s deficit to three. From there, the Bruins found another gear and pulled away. The Tigers were forced to foul to stop the clock, but UCLA made all of their free throws to seal the win.
Here is what LSU head coach Kim Mulkey had to say following the game.
LSU couldn’t finish with Betts on the bench
Betts sat out the entire second quarter, giving LSU a chance to limit UCLA’s offense even more. The Tigers not only couldn’t score points of their own but they also failed to contain the Bruins’ shooters in Timea Gardiner and Gabriela Jaquez. The pair knocked down four triples in the frame.
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“Our discipline defensively cost us,” Mulkey. “Examples would be when the shot clock was winding down. We are taught every day it’s a hot situation and it’s an automatic switch. We gave up several of those today, wide open shots.”
“Betts did not beat us. We guarded her as tough as we could guard her. We did not take advantage of Betts being off the floor in the second quarter and we allowed perimeter threes and other people to step up.”
“The game was lost in the second quarter. That’s where the game was lost.”
2025 March Madness run different for Mulkey
Five players for LSU had never made it to the Sweet Sixteen prior to this season. Playing the Elite Eight is a rare experience and one Mulkey doesn’t take lightly for her players despite her being in this position many times.
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“The amount of experience that they got will be valuable.”
“I learned to celebrate every team I coach. Some have overachieved through the years, some have gone just as far as I thought they could go and then some have underachieved. And that’s the fun part of coaching.”
Coaching three All-Americans a “blessing” for Mulkey
Johnson, Aneesah Morrow, and Mikayla William developed into one of the most potent scoring trios in the country. Mulkey won’t soon forget the contributions they made to the program and how much they’ve taken away from being a part of her team.
“When you retire, you sit in that rocking chair and you think about that but more importantly than any of that is listening to three All-Americans hurt and talk about things that they’ve learned that have nothing to do with basketball.”
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“I never take them for granted. I just really value that they chose to come to LSU and play in our program and through good times, wins and bad times, losses, watch them own their team and own their play and get better and get better.”
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Three things Kim Mulkey said after LSU falls to UCLA in Elite Eight
