LSU surges back to reach Sweet 16 in wake of Mulkey comments - ESPN

BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU coach Kim Mulkey pledged that she wouldn't let an impending Washington Post «hit piece» about her derail the defending national champion Tigers during the women's NCAA tournament.

A dominant second-half surge on Sunday, led by star forward Angel Reese and dynamic guard Flau'jae Johnson, proved Mulkey right, at least for now.

Reese's 20 points and 11 rebounds along with Johnson's 21 points helped third-seeded LSU pull away for an 83-56 victory over No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee in the second round.

«Listen, man, we're not going to let one sleazy reporter distract us from what we're trying to do. Absolutely not,» Mulkey said. «My kids didn't even know I said that yesterday. That team is not involved in this. They were in shock when they saw all that on the internet.»

Mulkey grabbed headlines on Saturday when she railed against The Washington Post and even threatened legal action. She did not mention the reporter by name, but award-winning Post reporter Kent Babb confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that he is working on a profile of Mulkey. He declined further comment, and the Post declined comment.

Reese said Sunday she didn't know anything about that, but other teammates did.

«Coach Mulkey's had our back all year, so we've got to have Coach Mulkey's back,» said forward Aneesah Morrow, who scored 19 points. «We've got to play hard and for one another — and that's as simple as it is.»

LSU (30-5) trailed by nine in the third quarter before surging to a comfortable second-half lead and ending the Blue Raiders' 20-game winning streak.

«I didn't want to let my team down,» said Reese, who had a long embrace with Mulkey on the sideline when she checked out in the final minutes.

Reese also noted