After a historic opening to the season and eleven hundred plus points out of fourteen, the LSU Tigers faced their first defeat of the season. And it came against the number 11-ranked Kentucky Wildcats by a mere 2 points. The final scorecard read 80-78 in favor of the Wildcats, and with that, both teams stand 14-1 in the season. However, for the Tigers’ coach, Kim Mulkey, their first SEC game exposed one important issue.

“No one player, no one spectacular three wins or loses games for you. The entire game was lost because of rebounding, and we got to go, we got to fix that,” Mulkey stated in the press address after the game.

The inability to secure the ball after missed shots proved decisive. The Tigers were thoroughly outworked on the glass, losing the rebounding battle 44-26, a gap that dictated the flow of the game. Kentucky repeatedly punished those lapses, pulling down 17 offensive rebounds and creating second chances, while the Tigers managed just four, never recovering from the imbalance.

However, the game was evenly balanced in the first two quarters, with the scores tied at 41 points each. In the third quarter, the Tigers took a lead of 5 points after scoring 24. The Wildcats managed to even the scorecard in the final quarter, and with 0.5 seconds left on the clock, the scores were tied at 77-77.

But Kentucky’s Tonie Morgan hit the deciding final shot to win the game for her team with her 3-pointer. While the Tigers lost the game in the final moments, as per Mulkey, they could have avoided the situation by staying ahead of their opponents by blocking them.

“We don’t block out. That’s one thing. You’re not just going to go in there and out-jump somebody in this league,” the coach admitted.

Apart from the key factors, the LSU coach addressed some other elements that played a decisive role in their first SEC game.

Kim Mulkey explains how Wildcats managed to overcome Tigers’ efficiency

The LSU Tigers performed better on the field, connecting 30 out of 61 attempts with a 49.2 percent conversion rate, whereas Kentucky scored with 43.5 percent, hitting 30 out of 69 attempts. While the team was efficient, experience played a key role in deciding the outcome of the match.

“If you would have told me we would have been out-rebounded with this group, there’s no way I would have believed you. But that goes back to experience. That goes back to toughness,” Mulkey underlined how experience and toughness played a factor in getting her team out-rebounded against the Wildcats.

Despite the slip, the Tigers’ coach stayed away from blaming any player.

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And no matter what the scoreline read, Lane Kiffin, LSU’s new football head coach, was out there at the PAMC to show his support for Mulkey’s team. After tasting their first loss of the season, the LS Tigers will next face the number 12-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores on Sunday, January 4, 202,6 at 5:00 PM EST.