Kim Mulkey says this coaching decision allowed LSU to rally v Ole Miss
The decision that Kim Mulkey felt ultimately won LSU women's basketball the game over Ole Miss, she initially thought it may have been too late.
Ole Miss led the Tigers, 69-59, with 6:24 remaining. The shift to a bigger lineup that featured senior Amiya Joyner and sophomore Kate Koval inside coupled with throwing different defenders and looks at Rebels' leading scorer Cotie McMahon sparked the comeback. LSU went on a 19-1 run to close out the game and survive, 78-70, inside Sandy and John Black Pavilion Thursday night.
With the victory, LSU (23-4, 9-4) has grabbed sole possession of fourth place in the Southeastern Conference standings, meaning it's in the driver's seat for the double bye at the conference tournament in a couple of weeks.
Junior star guard MiLaysia Fulwiley turned in a career high 26 points, scoring 22 in the second half to help will the Tigers to the rally over Ole Miss (21-7, 8-5).
Kim Mulkey on the coaching decision that allowed LSU women's basketball to rally vs Ole Miss
"I think a decision we made as a staff to go big was very effective. I just thought there were taking my two young freshmen off the drive and that's why I didn't go big thinking that, you know, they could move laterally a little bit better. What was killing us was second, third shots and I thought Kate and (Joyner) were just solid together. That was a big decision and I'm not sure I ever thought I would do that in this game tonight. But I did and it worked."
Kim Mulkey on what LSU did differently defensively on Cotie McMahon
"We mixed it up. We went to that 3-2 zone. Might have stayed in it a little too long. They hit some three's when we were in it and then we went back man, just trying to mix it up a little bit. Keep her off balanced. She's so explosive and so powerful and with that, she just is just so quick. We threw different people at her. (Fulwiley) was on her one minute and got a couple of steals, then Jada (Richard) and Bella (Hines), Mikaylah (Williams), anybody we could. Giving her different bodies to look at. You're not going to guard her 1-on-1. We made sure when she turned a corner, somebody else is there to help."
Kim Mulkey on MiLaysia Fulwiley's career night vs Ole Miss
"God bless this child with speed. I wouldn't want to be on the floor with her because when she takes off, you better put it in high gear. She'll find you and a lot of times, honestly, she looks to pass too much. She needs to get to the rim and finish and draw fouls."
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Kim Mulkey details LSU women's basketball comeback win over Ole Miss
Gable Steveson scores vicious ground and pound finish to move to 3-0 in MFL 3 main event
Gable Steveson got a little more cage time for his third professional fight but still scored a first round finish to move to 3-0 in the MFL 3 main event on Thursday in Mexico.
The highly touted prospect and Olympic gold medalist, who counts Jon Jones among his coaches, faced his most experienced opponent to date with 11-3 heavyweight Hugo Lezama but the result was still the same as his first two fights. Despite his wrestling pedigree, Steveson really didn’t have to show off many takedowns as Lezama kept making mistakes that put him on the ground and the 25-year-old heavyweight made him pay each and every time.
Steveson ended the fight after he bloodied Lezama and just trapped him on the canvas where he continued to unloaded huge, heavy punches and the referee finally saw enough to stop the fight. The stoppage came at 3:50 in the first round as Steveson picked up his third professional win.
“I feel great,” Steveson said about the win. “A lot of things to get better on. But I’m getting better each day. Tough fight, a guy who didn’t give up. A great competitor, I’m glad he stepped in.”
The tone was set early when Lezama made an ill-fated attempt to go for a takedown of his own but Steveson quickly stuffed that and immediately started throwing bombs from above. Lezama survived with a series of upkicks that led to Steveson standing back up again and it appeared he was willing to test his striking.
But Lezama just kept throwing big sloppy shots on the feet and he kept ending up back on the ground again. The most effective strike came from a spin kick that actually clipped Steveson but did no damage as he walked through that and continued coming after him on the feet.
Stevesen eventually grabbed the body lock and effectively brought Lezama down to the ground for the final time as he just kept blasting away with punches. With Lezama turtled up and just protecting his head, Steveson unloaded a barrage of shots that forced the referee to intervene before any futher punishment was handed out.
Steveson celebrated his win with Jones along with coaches Greg Jackson and Brandon Gibson as he takes one step closer to his ultimate goal, which is competing in the UFC. But despite the expectation that he’ll be fighting in the octagon soon enough, Steveson didn’t make any declarations that could be next for him after this latest win.
“I’m going to take a shower and go back to the hotel and fall asleep,” Steveson said when asked what’s next for him. “Onto the next for me.”
It probably won’t take long for the UFC to make that call to sign Steveson and bring him on the roster but for now he can celebrate his latest win and another first-round finish.
Magic use 3-point flurry to hand the Kings their franchise-record 15th straight loss
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Paolo Banchero scored 30 points and the Orlando Magic beat Sacramento 131-94 on Thursday night for the Kings’ franchise-record 15th straight loss.
Orlando made a team-record 27 3-pointers on 51 attempts. Banchero was 5 of 7 from 3-points range and had six assists and five rebounds in the opener of a four-game trip.
The Kings broke the futility record a day after star center Domantas Sabonis and guard Zach LaVine had season-ending surgeries. The franchise had 14-game losing streaks in 1959-60 and 1971-72 while playing as the Cincinnati Royals.
The NBA record for consecutive losses is 28, set by Philadelphia over the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons and matched by Detroit in 2023–24.
The NBA-worst Kings are 12-45, with a five-game trip up next. Sacramento is winless since beating Washington at home Jan 16 for its season-best fourth straight victory.
Orlando broke the team record for 3-pointers of 25 set Jan. 3, 2004, at Sacramento in a 138-135 loss in double overtime.
Anthony Black added 20 points for Orlando. Desmond Bane had 17, Jett Howard 16, and Jevon Carter 14. Seventh in the East, the Magic improved to 29-25.
Maxime Raynaud led Sacramento with 17 points. Keegan Murray added 15, and Precious Achiuwa and Malik Monk each had 14.
Banchero had 18 points in the first half to help the Magic take a 64-55 lead.
After Sacramento cut it to 83-81 with 4:25 left in the third, Orlando closed the quarter with a 19-3 run to take a 102-84 lead into the fourth.
Tristan da Silva hit three straight 3s early in the fourth to make it 111-88. The Magic outscored the Kings 48-13 in last 16:25.
Sabonis had a meniscus tear in November, and played just 19 games this season. LaVine had surgery to repair a tendon on his right pinky finger.
The Kings started out as the Rochester Royals and also were the Kansas City-Omaha Kings and Kansas City Kings. They moved to Sacramento for the 1985-86 season.
Up next
Magic: At Phoenix on Saturday.
Kings: Face San Antonio in Austin, Texas, on Saturday night.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba