LSU, Georgia women's basketball react to bizarre weather delay at SEC Tournament

Emily Adams, Lafayette Daily Advertiser
·2 min read
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GREENVILLE, S.C. — With just over four minutes left until halftime in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal on Friday between LSU women's basketball and Georgia, both teams received bizarre news: There would be a weather delay in Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

According to the SEC, high-speed winds caused a damper to open in an exhaust fan in the arena roof which allowed rain to leak onto the court. Both teams were sent to the locker rooms for nearly 40 minutes and ultimately resumed play after a 10-minute warmup period.

LSU senior Alexis Morris was at a loss for words after the Tigers' 83-66 win over the Bulldogs.

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"I don't know what it was," Morris said. "I've never experienced anything like that in my life. Not in AAU, high school, elementary, ever. It was just, I don't know."

Tigers coach Kim Mulkey said she only spoke to her team briefly during the delay then retreated to the coaches' locker room to talk with her son Kramer Robertson, an infielder in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

"I walked in and told them three or four things immediately that we needed to do better, and then I walked out and ... texted with my son," Mulkey said. "He said 'Oh, I thought you said you coached an indoorsport.' That's going to be chapter 50 of my next book. All this coaching I've done I've never had a leaking roof like that."

Prior to the leak, both teams were shooting over 56% from the field, and while LSU finished at 50%, Georgia wasn't able to maintain its pace. The Bulldogs shot 41.7% with a particularly significant fall-off on 3-pointers from 60% in the first half to 25% in the second.

Georgia coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said the Bulldogs were able to watch some film in the locker room during the break, but she still felt they struggled to regain their pre-delay momentum.

"It definitely stops momentum," Abrahamson-Henderson said. "That was hard. I don't think anybody has ever experienced that. In basketball, anytime, anyplace, anywhere, you've got to fight. ... We had some adversity and we had to fight through it.

Mulkey said she felt both teams responded to the delay as well as possible. Her biggest concern is the impending NCAA Tournament regional rounds scheduled to be hosted at the Greenville arena.

"It was cute because they kept saying, 'Oh it's 40, 50, 60 mile an hour winds.' I said, 'Welcome to Louisiana. We're used to hurricanes,' " Mulkey said. "You want to know what I said? 'Aren't y'all hosting a regional here?' I believe I would get that fixed. It's not a good look, is it?"

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU, Georgia react to SEC women's basketball tournament weather delay