Angel Reese played just 13 minutes in LSU women’s basketball’s fourth game of the season. Head coach Kim Mulkey chose to bench her superstar guard for the majority of the game and the entire second half.
She still managed to score 11 points and secure five rebounds in a 30-point win over Kent State.
The decision to sit Reese was strange. It was completely unexpected.
More than likely, there is no reason to read deeper. The Tiger swere cooking and five-star freshman guard Mikaylah Williams dropped 42 while Reese was on the sideline.
However, Mulkey did not provide any clarity with her filtered response to a question about her benching of Bayou Barbie. She only threw fuel on the speculation fire and added that she “could” explain more specifically, but “won’t.”
Coach’s decision.
— Kim Mulkey
Mulkey later gave a quick “yeah” when asked if she chose to bench Reese because she liked the lineup she had out there with Williams, Aneesah Morrow and Sa’Myah Smith. That didn’t help clear things up.
Regardless of the real reason for Mulkey’s decision, Angel Reese took the high road on Instagram. As everybody wondered why she was on the bench, she posted a pair of images that hyped up Williams and Morrow — the two guards who took her place. It was a strong display of class and character.
Is Kim Mulkey upset with Angel Reese?
All of this “drama” has caused a lot of conjecture. Reese was benched against the Golden Flashes after her coach implied frustration with her early-season performance in the surprising loss to the Buffaloes.
I’m disappointed and surprised in some individual players that I thought would just be tougher and have a little fight and leadership about them […]
What I don’t live with is just guts and fight and physical play [not being there]. I just didn’t think we had that tonight
— Kim Mulkey after losing to Colorado
Perhaps Mulkey’s comments and the benching coincide. Maybe the third-year head coach at LSU is not thrilled with how Reese has played and acted thus far and found that her team was better off with its new transfer and star freshman on the court instead.
The Tigers will be back on the court on Friday. All eyes will be on Reese’s minutes!