Getty Image
The LSU women’s basketball team advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament after picking up an 83-56 over 11-seed Middle Tennessee State. While the final score suggests a convincing win, the game was close up until the fourth quarter.
In fact, the Blue Raiders took a 36-32 lead into the halftime break and were still in the game up until late in the third quarter of action. After the win, head coach Kim Mulkey was asked if she believed her team was distracted in pregame lead up.
The reporter asking the question hinted at a previous media appearance in which Mulkey ripped a writer from the Washington Post, even threatening to sue for defamation though the piece hadn’t been released.
The 61-year-old coach referred to the soon-to-be-released article as “one-sided” and “embellished” in an effort to “sell newspapers and feed the click machine.” In her opinion, it is exactly why people “don’t trust journalists and the media anymore” because people are tired of the “hatchet jobs.”
Mulkey claimed the story has been in the works for two years, though she refused to participate in an interview because of a previous story the journalist had written on LSU football coach Brian Kelly.
Given LSU’s slow start against a much lower-seeded foe on Sunday, one media member wanted to know if that off-court distraction had an effect on the team.
Kim Mulkey dismissed that notion while throwing another jab the Washington Post reporter’s way.
Kim Mulkey in the post-game presser said she isn’t going to let the drama surrounding the unreleased Washington Post article distract them.
“We’re not going to let one sleazy reporter distract us from what we’re trying to do. Absolutely not.” pic.twitter.com/1BuMADFwUR
— E J 🏀 (@EJayArrow) March 24, 2024
“We’re not going to let one sleazy reporter distract us from what we’re trying to do,” she said. “Absolutely not. My kids didn’t even know I said that yesterday. That team’s not involved in this. They were in shock when they saw all that…”
While Mulkey suggests it’s not a distraction, it’s not the best time for an off-court headline as the Tigers look to make another national championship run.
Whether it played an effect in or not, who knows?
LSU was able to overcome its slow start by dominating after halftime, outscoring MTSU 51-20. That included a 24-7 fourth quarter to blow the game wide open.
Next up, the Tigers will take on the winner of UCLA and Creighton.