What LSU women's basketball said about Georgia players talking to coach Kim Mulkey
GREENVILLE, S.C. – LSU women's basketball players said they believed Georgia players "crossed the line" during their game in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals Friday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
LSU senior point guard Alexis Morris and freshman guard Flau'jae Johnson told reporters following the game that words were spoken to their coach Kim Mulkey during the Tigers' 83-66 victory.
"Nothing can distract us from what we need to get accomplished," said Morris, who scored a game-high 28 points. "And two, when people are talking to your coach, our leader, our captain, we don't take that very nicely."
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"We don't play like that," Johnson added.
At the 6:06 mark in the third quarter, Tigers sophomore forward Angel Reese and Georgia senior guard Diamond Battles got into a verbal spat and were both issued technical fouls.
As the referees were assessing the sequence at the monitor, Mulkey could be seen telling them that Battles was talking to her.
After the game, Mulkey chalked up the situation to "heat of the moment." Second-seeded LSU was up 55-41 against the 7-seed Bulldogs at the time.
The previous time the two teams met, the Tigers won in overtime. Bulldogs coach Katie-Abrahamson-Henderson expressed after that game that she felt like her team let an opportunity to upset LSU get away.
Bulldogs junior forward Javyn Nicholson said their team is passionate and emotions in the SEC Tournament were heightened.
"We love this game and we take it seriously. We're going to try to get after it and try to change the dynamic of the game any way we can, and at the end of the day we're going to fight for what we want and fight to win," Nicholson said. "That's just how that goes."
Reese called the matchup with the Bulldogs "chippy."
"We know when not to cross that line," Reese told The Daily Advertiser. "Games get chippy and I think that's what grows women's college basketball. Coming to LSU, I've been able to have that platform of being able to express that talking trash is OK.
"Having momentum already (in the game), and knowing when those things can happen, just bringing the team together. We're very competitive. And this team is not backing down to anyone."
Not only are the Tigers not backing down but they demand respect, including for Mulkey. And how things transpired with Georgia, it elevated their play.
"You have to respect your coaches. People crossed the line tonight and we took that personally and we handled business," Morris said. It turned us up a notch."
"(Mulkey is) a big personality, but like (Morris) said, we don't take no disrespect for our coach," Johnson added. "Not for the head hancho.
"I just said, let's take that and put it into the game. And we did that. Look at the score."
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Kim Mulkey: LSU women's basketball says Georgia disrespected coach
