In the post-match presser, Mulkey was asked a lot of questions related to the game and their impressive performance that day. However, the 61-year-old didn’t stay back and praised the opposition.
What did Mulkey exactly say?
Mulkey applauded home team for passing test of character during tough times. She also spoke at length about what makes their head coach Henderson special. “They didn’t quit. They didn’t quit. And I don’t want to say this about Katie. Katie is a very good coach. Katie understands the game and I’m gonna give you an example. When called off the dawgs, and I pull my people out, Katie didn’t start pressing you to try and cut the lead, and make it look respectable. She understood what I was doing. Not many people do that,” Mulkey stated.
The California-born commended the attitude of Bulldogs which had all the fans admiring Mulkey for her stance: “She’s played the game at the highest level. She’s won and she’s got a whole new team. She brought her team with her from Central Florida and they were outstanding last year so you have to replace players and sometimes when you replace them, it takes a little bit of time to make them better and play together and but they didn’t quit. She didn’t quit. She got teed up, I think… just, just fight. Learn.”
Katie Abrahamson played for Georgia Bulldogs from 1986 to 1988 and then played for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1988 to 1990. Her exceptional skills as a player helped Bulldogs emerge victorious in the SEC conference title game. Whereas for the Hawkeyes, her moment of glory came when she helped her team reach the Sweet Sixteen. Notably, Katie also spent a year in New Zealand plying her trade as a professional basketball player.
It is the temperament acquired from this experience that helped Bulldogs when they were down. They were trailing by a blowout margin of 23-45 at halftime and briefly tried to make a comeback in the third quarter by smashing 22 points as opposed to the LSU’s 15. Bulldogs’ patience in making a comeback and cutting down the lead was commendable.
Though, Lady Tigers again went on a rampage in the fourth quarter, Bulldogs deserved the compliments given out by Mulkey for not getting intimated by the reigning champions. The quarter of Angel Reese, Aneesah Morrow, Hailey Van Lith and Flau’jae Johnson performed exceptionally well.
While Reese scored 17 points, Van Lith smoked 18. On the other hand, Morrow and Johnson weren’t behind as they too potted 16 and 14 respectively. Therefore the entire LSU team contributed collectively and that showed on the points table. Mulkey was also praised for her team’s players, especially Morrow and Reese. She went on to state: “Coaches are only as good as the players.” And that shows the conviction Mulkey has in her team.