Kim Mulkey shared a heartfelt moment with NC State players soon after her LSU Tigers ousted the Wolfpack.
The close bout on Friday saw No. 3 LSU edge past No. 2 NC State with an 80-73 win in the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen, which saw a spectacular display from Aneesah Morrow. The talented forward secured her 30th double-double for the 2024-25 season, notching up a hefty 30 points and 19 rebounds to drive LSU to victory.
Mulkey took a moment to share words of encouragement with the dejected Wolfpack players, whose March Madness journey was cut short, demonstrating sportsmanship before joining her team in celebration. In the postgame handshakes, Mulkey, 62, could be seen speaking to each of NC State’s players.
During the press conference that followed the game, Mulkey opened up about what she told LSU’s opponents. She explained: “One of them I know personally, Maddie Cox. Her older sister won a national championship for me at Baylor. So I’ve watched that young lady since she was 10, 12 years old.
She had a good game today. I know that family very well. And what I said to her was, ‘This is the part of the game none of us like, Maddie. Get your head up.’ She took it hard. Saniya Rivers just told her what a great player she was. I’ve been through that line when you’ve lost,” reports the Mirror US
She added: “I think the world of Wes Moore. There’s certain coaches in your profession you don’t like coaching against because they’re really, really good – and he is as a coach – but he’s a really good man. And I just told him that. I said, ‘You’re just a good man, Wes, and you’re a heck of a coach.’”
LSU’s win on Friday securing them a spot in their third straight Elite Eight, with hopes of clinching a second national championship in three seasons. The team is set to contend with the victor of the No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 5 Ole Miss game come Sunday.
Despite many LSU players being regulars in the deep stages of March Madness, Mulkey acknowledged that this was uncharted territory for some, explaining: “I think there’s five in our locker room that have never been to a Sweet Sixteen. So, they certainly haven’t been to an Elite Eight.
“That’s what excites you as a coach, is having players experience something for the first time. And you don’t take it for granted, you just don’t. We make plays down the stretch – we make some bad plays down the stretch – but we make plays down the stretch to pull it out and win. And it means we did some good stuff.”
Mulkey also credited the Tigers’ ability to consistently pull through in tight games to three key elements. She said: “This has been a team that’s won a lot of close games from the very beginning of the season.
“I think part of it is seniors. Another part of it is leaders, your leadership, your captains. And the third part of it is competitors. I think all these close games, it benefits us to have been in them.
“I don’t like them particularly. I’d like to relax on that side-line and let them relax, but when you get to this level, there’s too many good teams.”
