SPOKANE, Wash. – UCLA receiving the confetti shower inside Spokane Arena for winning the Spokane 1 Regional Sunday afternoon wasn't the ending Kim Mulkey and LSU women's basketball has envisioned for itself.
Some old habits reared their head in the season's biggest game and some new patterns couldn't quite matriculate as the Tigers lost to the Bruins, 72-65. For the second straight season, their season came to an end in the Elite Eight.
The 15 turnovers LSU (31-6) committed led to 16 UCLA points, which more than doubled the difference on the scoreboard. Star trio Flau'jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams and Aneesah Morrow combined for 13 of those giveaways.
Johnson said after the game that she felt the team could've moved the ball around more, creating better shots for one another, which is something the Tigers had done a better job of in the NCAA Tournament.
"I had five in that locker room that had never been to a Sweet 16, never been to an Elite Eight, and the amount of experience that they got will be valuable," Mulkey said after the loss.
LSU women's basketball early outlook for 2025-26 and Kim Mulkey
The loss stings for LSU but it's positioned for another deep run in next year's March Madness after, like Mulkey said, plenty of its players gained valuable court time in the NCAA Tournament.
Morrow will be LSU's biggest loss as she moves on the WNBA. Her 18.5 points and 13.5 rebounds will be hard to replace and how the Tigers do it likely won't look the same.
But Sa'Myah Smith returns and after the performance she had during the tournament for LSU, she's eager to get next season going.
"We could start the season tomorrow and I'd be ready to go," Smith said. "It's just not taking these moments, games for granted. I think coach (Gary Redus) said it best, it starts in November. I'm definitely eager to get back to it for sure.
"Put that chip on your shoulder. We got here and did the same thing. Getting here is the expectation now, we want to to get past here."
Other players LSU lose are reserve forward Amani Bartlett and point guard Shayeann Day-Wilson.
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The biggest roster question for LSU heading into the offseason is Johnson. ...
