(Photo credit: Nate Bell)
By Rivers Hughey
BATON ROUGE, La. – After LSU’s 101-71 win over Florida State secured a third straight Sweet 16 appearance, head coach Kim Mulkey credited her team’s depth and playmaking.
“Our bench has been so significant the last two games,” Mulkey said on 104.5 ESPN’s Off the Bench with Jacob Hester and T-Bob Hebert. “We had 29 assists in an NCAA playoff game, two post players nearly had triple-doubles—so many records were broken last night.”
Another game. Another record. pic.twitter.com/SKNQ6PbIAn
— LSU Women’s Basketball (@LSUwbkb) March 25, 2025
LSU led by just one at halftime before dominating in the second half. Looking ahead to their matchup with NC State, Mulkey stressed preparation and efficiency.
“You make sure you don’t overcoach, you (as a coach) don’t stay on the floor too long,” she said. “Our season has prepared us for this moment.”
Mulkey also took time to acknowledge USC star JuJu Watkins, who suffered a torn ACL in the Trojans’ second-round victory over Mississippi State.
“JuJu Watkins is a star in our game, and she went down last night with an ACL injury. It was just so sad to watch and see,” Mulkey said. “Just think about that young lady and her family. And the thing I would tell her, her coach, is this is fixable. Sa’Myah Smith is a good example of this. She’s been through two ACL tears, one on each knee, but she’s such a great ambassador for our team.”
LSU will take on NC State this weekend in the Sweet 16, looking to advance to the Elite Eight for the second straight year.
