SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 4, 2022

Kim Mulkey

Khayla Pointer

Bridgestone Arena

LSU Lady Tigers

Postgame Press Conference

Kentucky 78, LSU 63

Q. Hey Khayla. So before the game we kind of saw you shared a moment with Rhyne Howard. Maybe describe that, what your relationship is with her and maybe how that developed?

KHAYLA POINTER: Yeah. We're obviously pretty good friends. We talk a lot. Always try to be competitive when we go against each other. Yeah. We have a good relationship off the court. So kind of shows on the court a little bit. It's always interesting playing her.

Q. Khayla, at the beginning of the game Kentucky was knocking down threes what was maybe the struggles trying to get into offensive rhythm for you all and how tough is it when a team is knocking down threes like they did early?

KHAYLA POINTER: They came out and punched us in the mouth really. They were pretty much hitting every shot they took. We kind of just had to battle. We were choosing who we wanted to give the shots to. We lost Rhyne a couple times in transition. I think they were shooting 70 percent from three maybe 60 percent from the field overall. So it was tough. We got ourselves in a really, really big hole and it was kind of tough to get out of that.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach?

Q. What tightened up in the second half to make a third quarter run?

KIM MULKEY: What ended in the second half?

Q. The question on Zoom says what tightened up the second half to make a third quarter run?

KIM MULKEY: They just came out on fire. I watched them play the previous games and they have all their parts back. They have everybody healthy, you know, and they've been on a run. They've won seven or eight in a row. And they can score the ball. And I think when you have Treasure Hunt and people like that shooting threes and making them, that helps Rhyne Howard not have to do it all.

And they just punched us in the mouth early and we didn't fold our tent. We kept trying to get back in the game. And we cut -- didn't we cut it to 9 at one point? So we kept battling. Just give them credit. Give them credit. They're on a roll right now.

Q. You mentioned Kentucky having all of its parts back and stuff. How different did this Kentucky team feel to you versus the first time you guys played them this season?

KIM MULKEY: Well, the feel is I don't have Alexis Morris out there. That's almost 17 points a game and we lost by 15, so it had the same feel. We're just a little bit shorthanded. Now that's not an excuse because they were going through injuries themselves. I think even suspension maybe. But it's just the nature of the beast.

You know, we missed Alexis not being out there on the offensive end and defensive end for that matter. I just -- we've got to wait until the NCAA playoffs to play her. I'm not playing her until the playoffs because that gives her a good four to five weeks to make sure she's strong.

Q. Khayla's attempt in the corner, before your technical I'm just wondering what you saw?

KIM MULKEY: I thought she got fouled after the shot. She did not get fouled when she went up. But it's been a point of emphasis we've had it called on us two or three times this year, and I thought after the contest she just laid on top of Khayla. And that's what I saw. I haven't seen the replay. You may have seen something different. It was right there in front of me and it was not straight up contesting a shot. That was not the deal and it just happened to be right at my feet.

Q. What was it like trying to juggle lineups in the second half to find a spark?

KIM MULKEY: That's what we do. That's what you're paid to do to try to find a spark. I thought Sarah came in, who hasn't seen the floor much of late, and she hit a three for us. You're searching. You're searching. And give somebody else a chance. Yes. That's what you do as a coach. Sometimes you make the right decision. Sometimes you don't.

Q. What did you see from your post tonight?

KIM MULKEY: I don't know that I can just say anything specific good or bad about the posts. I just want to give Kentucky credit and let's move on. Give all the credit to Kentucky and I just thought they were physical. I thought they hit shots. I thought we finally got a little more physical with them in the second half and made it, you know, kind of a decent game.

Q. What was your message to the team after the game?

KIM MULKEY: I talked about energy and I talked about defense. And talked about we don't know what time we're leaving in the morning and that we'll ring your phones, so keep them on and we'll let you know when we're heading back. And that March 13th we'll find out our seeding and hopefully, you know, it will be a great atmosphere in Baton Rouge and by then Alexis Morris will be back and let's move on.

THE MODERATOR: That's all we have. Thank you, Coach.