“You just not going to let me enjoy today, are you?”, Kim Mulkey couldn’t be clearer about her team’s mentality after LSU toppled Auburn on Sunday. The win came after the Tigers suffered a heartbreaking loss to Texas, which also snapped their seven-game winning streak. Mulkey isn’t one to get swallowed by a loss, and certainly not one to allow her team continue resting on their laurels. But she could have certainly used a few more minutes to enjoy the win before thinking of the next game.

“We aren’t the kind of team that throws a pity party,” She said when a reporter asked her about her plans for the next game against Dawn Staley‘s Gamecocks. The reporter asked Mulkey if she was going to play ZaKiyah Johnson and Grace Knox against the top seed that used length against opponents.

“Yeah, well, they got to play. They played all year. I’ve got to get in the film room and do some in-depth studying of South Carolina,” Mulkey said in the post-game presser after the win over Auburn. “I certainly know who they have, their personnel. I know they’re long in the paint and have a lot of length. But you’re not going to not play ZaKiyah and Grace because they’re 6’2 and 6’1 versus 67 or 65. They have to play for us.

Staley’s Gamecocks lead with a 10-1 record in the SEC. Despite injuries that have disrupted its rotation, USC sits at the top of the conference, while LSU is at No. 5. Mulkey is already expecting a different atmosphere for the face-off between the top dogs in the conference.

“But we will figure it out between now and Saturday. And it’ll be another great SEC atmosphere, SEC game. You know, South Carolina is who they are. They are South Carolina,” she added. “They’re good. They’re always good. And let’s just see if we can stay in the ball game with them and have an unbelievable atmosphere.”

Mulkey’s Tigers are in the midst of another confident year. Against the Gamecocks, struggling with health, the Tigers are fresh and certainly confident after a dominating win on Sunday. But can the Tigers really beat the Gamecocks on Saturday?

When Nothing is Guaranteed, Kim Mulkey Still Believes

In basketball, there is no sure answer. Sometimes a player, like Tracy McGrady, can start shooting with basketball god’s own hands to draw out an impossible win. Call it whatever, but in basketball, the answer can change in minutes.

In her role as the Tigers’ coach, she is still looking for her first win against Staley’s team. In the midst of another good year, despite Gamecocks royalty, Mulkey is confident that her team will take down the top seed and hand Staley the second loss of the season. After winning over Auburn, Mulkey was asked if she saw her team getting the confidence back after the win.

Kim Mulkey admitted that her team “lost composure” in the last game against Texas. However, she saw a more confident LSU team today. “I saw what I expected, we aren’t the kind of team that throws a pity party,” she said. “We get back on our game. We lost our composure against Texas, but we had a good practice yesterday and are pretty good.”

While Mulkey was at Baylor, she had won two of their three meetings. Now in her fifth year with LSU, she has yet to get one in their last three meetings. Mulkey wants to win games, but winning against Staley isn’t her sole focus.