The LSU women's basketball team is off to a perfect 12-0 start to begin the 2025-26 season. The Tigers are making quick work of their non-conference slate, winning their 12 games by an average of 54 points. They've scored 100+ points in nine games already, with their closest margin of victory coming by 16 points in a 93-77 win over Duke on December 4.
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Ranked as the No. 5 team in the country, it's about as good of a start as it gets for Mulkey's team. However, that doesn't mean the 4x National Championship winning head coach is completely satisfied with her team's play.
Kim Mulkey wants to see improved results on the defensive end
LSU is allowing just 54.3 points per game this season, and their +53.5 differential through 12 games is the best in the country. They allowed just 33 points to Morgan State in their most recent contest on Tuesday night. Yet, Mulkey didn't see enough of what she wanted to see from her team defensively.
“If we don't get better defensively,” Mulkey said after the game, “(associate head coach) Bob Starkey is gonna have a coronary. I mean, he's in charge of defense. He's old school like I am, and he knows what our weaknesses are.”
Mulkey also stated that she thinks her team is allowing too many easy paths to the rim and needs to do a better job protecting the paint. Furthermore, she added that her team needs to spend less time chasing steals. “We have to know the difference on when to gamble, when to stay in a stance,” Mulkey said. “We're just not there yet. I don't know when we will get there, but certainly every day in practice, it's just emphasized.”
It's clear that Mulkey is not satisfied with her teams defensive performance despite posting dominating efforts through the non-conference slate. According to Her Hoop Stats, LSU is allowing its opponents to score only 68.5 points per 100 possessions, which is the second-best mark in the country.
LSU is back in action on Sunday, December 21 with a home matchup against UT Arlington. SEC play begins on New Year's Day against No. 12 Kentucky at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.