ALBANY, N.Y. — Kim Mulkey had lived this moment before.
To be exact, the 18 times her teams had their seasons ended with an NCAA tournament loss.
That includes seven times one victory shy of advancing to the Final Four, as her 2024 LSU squad did Monday night in a 94-87 loss to Iowa in the Albany Regional 2 finals.
“Only one team finishes the season happy, and boy, we got to do that last year,” said Mulkey, the Tigers’ third-year head coach who won the fourth national championship of her career last season in a 17-point title game victory over Iowa. “Somebody will get to do it this year. But everybody else is going to come up here and be sad. You know, there’s nothing wrong with being sad. If you’re not sad, that means you didn’t invest much. So those tears are tears of investment.”
So was the Tigers’ blood and sweat equity they provided in overcoming obstacle after obstacle – some admittedly self-inflicted – to put together a 31-6 season in the glare of the greatest one-year growth of popularity ever in women’s college basketball.
Since April 2021 when Louisiana homegirl Mulkey was announced as LSU’s new head coach after 21 seasons at Baylor, she has repeatedly said how hard it is to win a national championship.
The 2023 Tigers made it look easy when they captured their first national title ever.
They dodged serious injuries. They were initially viewed nationally as no threat to advance far in the NCAA tourney because of their weak non-conference schedule.
The general basketball public saw the Tigers as a fun team to watch, one full of big personalities led by a coach who has always been a show by herself.
In the eyes of the media, the Tigers were “a good story” for how quickly Mulkey turned a program.
That is, until LSU won the national championship, benefiting from Iowa upsetting No, 1 ranked South Carolina in the semifinals.
And when LSU All-American forward Angel Reese gave Iowa star Caitlin Clark some of her own medicine with some taunts as the clock was winding down on LSU’s championship game victory, the narrative toward the Tigers flipped overnight.
They were immediately branded by the social media racists as “classless thugs” coached by that angry maniac wearing loud clothes.
And as the summer progressed, the hate grew worse.
Mulkey stacked the deck by signing Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow, the top two players nationally in the transfer portal.
Reese stayed in the spotlight by appearing in commercials and on several magazine covers including the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.
There was early season drama with a four-game absence by Reese, apparently an unspoken suspension issued by Mulkey who refused to offer any explanation.
While Reese was absent, sophomore center Sa’Myah Smith sustained a season-ending knee injury in November. The loss was a blow to LSU’s razor-thin depth.
Then, Mulkey, again with no explanation, tossed returning guard Kateri Poole off the team in early December. It was yet another uppercut to the Tigers’ depth.
Yet, as Reese returned and settled into a role different than a year ago – suddenly now she was surrounded by better players and didn’t have to score as much – LSU fell into a rhythm.
Despite a brief dip of three straight SEC losses, the Tigers improved.
Van Lith had her ups and downs as she transformed into a point guard after playing as a shooting guard previously for Louisville. Returning sophomore guard Flau’jae Johnson emerged as the team’s best overall player, a bubbly blend of enthusiasm and athleticism. Morrow proved to be a great double-double sidekick for Reese. Former Bossier City Parkway star Mikaylah Williams was on her way to being named SEC Freshman of the Year.
The Tigers set attendance records at almost every visiting arena. They were the bullseye for every opposing team, yet had the grace win or lose to sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans after games.
Through it all, the social media hate for Reese, Mulkey and the rest of the team rarely subsided. Almost anything said by Reese or Mulkey, even if they were complimenting opposing teams or players, got twisted by the hater keyboard warriors.
The spewing venom hit an all-time high Saturday when Los Angeles Times writer Ben Bolch referred to LSU players as “dirty debutantes,” which is a category in porn videos. Bolch issued an apology Monday on his Twitter account.
It wasn’t until after Monday’s season-ending loss in which SEC Player of the Year Reese had 17 points and 20 rebounds that she could no longer hold her emotions.
“I don’t really get to speak out on things because I just ignore,” Reese said as she battled the tears that began to flow. “I just try to stand strong.
“I’ve been through so much. I’ve seen so much. I’ve been attacked so many times, death threats, I’ve been sexualized, I’ve been threatened, I’ve been through so many things, and I’ve stood strong every single time.
“I just try to stand strong for my teammates because I don’t want them to see me down and not be there for them. I just want to always know, I’m still a human. All this has happened since the national championship.
“It sucks, but I still wouldn’t change. I wouldn’t change anything, and I would still sit here and say I’m unapologetically me. I’m going to always leave that mark and be who I am and stand on that.
“And hopefully, the little girls that look up to me, and hopefully I give them some type of inspiration that know hopefully it’s not this hard and all the things that come at you, but keep being who you are, keep waking up every day, keep being motivated, staying who you are, stand ten toes, don’t back down, and just be confident.”
Reese and Van Lith, who both have the option of playing one more college season, now have to decide whether they’ll enter the WNBA Draft or return.
Without them, Mulkey will have to reload her team built around Johnson, Morrow and Williams.
Smith is on her way to making a full recovery from surgery. Center Alayah Del Rosario and guard Janae Kent are expected to take increased roles as sophomores.
Mulkey has already tapped into the transfer portal by signing Arkansas 6-5 forward Jersey Wolfenbarger, a former McDonald’s All-America and SEC All-Freshman team honoree.
As for now, Mulkey is proud of how her 2024 team fought its way to the brink of a second straight Final Four trip.
“I’m going to think of the little things that we overcame, that put us in an Elite 8,” Mulkey said. “You’re one game away from going back to the Final Four. I’m going to eventually think `How did we get here? What did we do as a team and as a staff to get to this moment?’
“So basically, I guess what I’m telling you is you learn. You learn. I learn every day as a coach. I look at the stat sheet, and I just put a lot of little notes down there, and I’ll file it away and think about it when the emotion of the loss goes away.”
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com