LSU basketball star Angel Reese had to hold head coach Kim Mulkey back from referees during Sunday’s 81-36 win against Northwestern State.

Despite Reese’s effors, Mulkey ended up receiving a double technical foul and her first ejection in her three seasons at LSU. Mulkey took issue with a charging foul called on forward Aneesah Morrow with 4:56 left to play.

“I’ve been tossed before,” Mulkey said. “It was time.”

Referee Timothy Greene awarded the coach with the technical fouls. After the game, she admitted to goading Greene into ejecting her.

“I think I helped him,” she said. “I said, ‘I’m not leaving, so you’d better toss me.'”

Mulkey was so fired up that Reese had to hold her back, which the forward laughed about afterward. Mulkey also thought it was funny, with Reese even calling for her son, former LSU baseball player Kramer Robertson, to come and help her.

“It was fun,” Reese said. “We both have similar personalities and we really like to win no matter the score. Of course she’s gonna fight for us and we all fight for her so, that moment was fun. We know she has our back and we have her back.”

Yet another UConn Husky will be sidelined for an extended period of time after a serious injury. This time, it’s Ayanna Patterson. 

Patterson will be out for the remainder of the 2023-24 season after undergoing surgery on her left knee for patellar tendonitis that she’d been experiencing since high school. The sophomore hasn’t appeared in any games for UConn so far this season, but last season she made 30 appearances for the squad. Patterson averaged two points and two rebounds per game during her freshman season. 

“Ayanna’s been dealing with patellar tendonitis since high school. She’s been rehabbing and undergoing treatments and decided with our medical staff that it was time to take care of the issue,” Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma said in a statement on Friday. “We’ll support Yanna through her rehab process and we anticipate she’ll make a full recovery. We look forward to having her back with the team on the court.”

Patterson’s injury predates her time with the Huskies, but this is not the first of UConn’s injury woes. Most notably, Paige Bueckers missed an entire season with a torn ACL in 2022-23. In fact, Bueckers has missed so much playing time that she only has 56 college games under her belt as a senior.  

This season, Azzi Fudd’s ACL and MCL injuries are the biggest hit to UConn’s roster. Fudd appeared in two games for the Huskies in 2023 before injuring her knee at practice in November. 

UConn is off to one of its worst starts to a season in recent memory, and while there could be multiple factors at play to cause the relatively poor start, the quantity and severity of injuries on the team could be the biggest contributor.

LSU basketball came up big Tuesday night in a historic 133-44 win over McNeese State.

The Tigers set program records for points in a game and margin of victory. Their previous scoring record stood at 125, set in November of last year in a win over Bellarmine. The previous margin of victory record was much older, with the Tigers eclipsing a 76-point win over Prairie View in 1995.

In the win, LSU showcased its defensive skills, forcing 36 turnovers, which turned into 52 points. In the second quarter, the Tigers shut out the Cowgirls entirely, part of a stretch of 13:36 in which they held their opponents scoreless.

In that time, LSU went on a 47-0 run.

“I told them at half, I don’t know if I’ve even been part of that,” LSU head coach Kim Mulkey said. “And a run like that you don’t think about it in the moment. I don’t care who you’re playing. That’s crazy.”

LSU had 20 steals, led by Angel Reese who had six. Flau’jae Johnson had five while freshman Mikaylah Williams had four. Reese added 21 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Aalyah Del Rosario led the team in scoring with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Aneesah Morrow had 18 points, while Williams had 26.

After missing 10 of their first 13 shots, the Tigers quickly turned their game around – even without Hailey Van Lith, who is out with a foot injury. Still, if you ask Mulkey, the defense is “still catching up” after dealing with player absences. (Reese recently missed four games for undisclosed reasons, and Sa’Myah Smith suffered a season-ending knee injury.)

“You don’t have Angel, then you don’t have Hailey and you don’t have Sa’Myah. So that sets you back temporarily until you can get back on that floor and prepare every day without them,” Mulkey said. “I think when Hailey gets back and if you can keep everybody healthy, I think you’ll start to see some good stuff out there.

“I’m not saying you’re not seeing good stuff now. I see improvement. But I’ll say it again, we can score the ball with a lot of people. But you got to defend and you got to rebound if you want to win championships.”

Still, allowing just 44 points in a game showcases a team’s defensive abilities – regardless of which opponent is on the other side of the stat sheet.

“Their defensive pressure got to us,” McNeese head coach Lynn Kennedy said. “We just didn’t handle it well. LSU caught fire. The fast break really opened it up for them, they [made] some transition shots and that got them going.”

For Del Rosario, the performance serves as an indicator of what she can bring to the Tigers from the bench as the season continues.

“It changed my perspective of the game,” she said. “I knew I was going to have to step up, play big-time minutes on the court and take advantage of the minutes. When I came here, I was not in the best of shape. Now, I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been.”

Once again, UConn basketball is navigating major injuries.

This season, though, the Huskies are doing so with Paige Bueckers on the court instead of on the sidelines – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges.

Already UConn is dealing with two season-ending injuries to Azzi Fudd and Jana El Alfy. Ayanna Patterson and Caroline Ducharme also are sidelined.

As a result, Bueckers has been tasked with playing multiple roles. And while she’s the best player UConn has, it’s taking some time for her teammates to adjust both to having her back in the lineup and to her playing new positions.

“We’re not completely there yet on how to seamlessly incorporate all the other people with the way Paige wants to play. And I don’t know when that will be 100% like I like it,” head coach Geno Auriemma said Sunday, as reported by CT Insider. “Right now, we just have to go with what we got and hope that every game we can get more contributions from more people.”

That means better off-ball movement around Bueckers, who runs the offense for UConn.

“We have to find a way to get more people consistently engaged around her,” Auriemma continued. “If she’s not getting enough assists, that means we’re not doing a good job moving without the ball because she would find you if we are, and that’s been a serious problem for this team for quite some time now.”

Through nine games, Auriemma has experimented with six different starting lineups. It’s about the Huskies attempting to “mix and match and find our way,” according to Auriemma. But eventually, he trusts, the team will figure it out.

“We’re all still trying to figure out how to play together as a basketball team and get sort of a chemistry within each other,” Bueckers said. “We’re all just trying to figure out how to be the best in our roles that we can be every single night and stay consistent in that.”

Caitlin Clark has added another NIL deal to her roster: Gatorade.

Clark signed a multi-year partnership with the sports drink brand, according to Front Office Sports. While the financial terms of the deal are unknown, Gatorade will be donating $22,000 to Clark’s foundation, which is dedicated to empowering youth.

“This partnership is special because not only does Gatorade fuel the best athletes in the game, but they’re also committed to leading by example and giving back, which is what I strive to do every day,” Clark said in a statement. “I’m honored to join such an iconic brand that has some of the most elite athletes in sport on their roster and can’t wait for what’s ahead.”

The Iowa guard is one of four college athletes to have a deal with Gatorade. She joins UConn’s Paige Bueckers, who was the first college athlete to sign with the brand, as well as Penn State football’s Nick Singleton and Colorado football’s Shedeur Sanders.

Clark’s latest NIL deal comes after she became the first NCAA athlete to sign with State Farm in October. She’s also signed deals with Nike, Buick, Topps, Hy-Vee and H&R Block. Clark recently signed with the Excel Sports Management agency, which includes women’s basketball clients such as Napheesa Collier and Arike Ogunbowale.

Clark is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft should she opt to forego her fifth and final year of eligibility. The Indiana Fever received that pick Sunday in the WNBA draft lottery.

“We’re thrilled to be a part of Caitlin’s journey to greatness early in her career,” Jeff Kearney, Gatorade’s global head of sports marketing, said in a statement. “[We] look forward to building upon the incredible impact she’s already made.”

Kateri Poole is no longer with the LSU basketball team, head coach Kim Mulkey said Sunday.

Poole, a 5-foot-8 junior guard, won the 2023 national championship with LSU, but she played in four games this season for the No. 7 Tigers. Her last game came on Nov. 17 against Southeastern Louisiana, in which she played just five minutes. Before that, on Nov. 14, she did not play against Kent State due to a “coach’s decision.”

She last appeared on LSU’s bench against Texas Southern on Nov. 20, although she did not play.

“She’s no longer with us,” Mulkey told reporters Sunday following the team’s 83-53 win over Louisiana. Mulkey had been asked about a timetable for Poole’s return.

“Depth, anytime you lose any player for any reason, your depth becomes smaller. But I still think we have plenty,” Mulkey continued when asked about the team losing players. The team lost Sa’Myah Smith due to a season-ending knee injury in late November, while Hailey Van Lith is out while dealing with plantar fasciitis.

Mulkey did not give any further information on Poole’s departure, and would not comment on if it resulted from a dismissal or a mutual parting of ways.

Poole’s absence comes after LSU star forward Angel Reese missed four games in November for undisclosed reasons. Mulkey attributed Reese’s absence to “locker room issues” and would not give any further details.

On Sunday, Reese showed support for Poole via Instagram, writing: “Forever my dawg! I love you & 10 behind you!”

Poole also posted on Instagram, writing “(T)hank you tiger nation” with a photo of the national championship trophy on her Instagram Stories.

The junior was a member of LSU’s national title-winning team in 2023 after spending the first two years of her career at Ohio State. She appeared in 35 games last season, averaging 4.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

Utah may have lost to top-ranked South Carolina on Sunday, but Utes star Alissa Pili showcased why she could be a first-round pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.

Pili had a career game in Utah’s 78-69 loss to South Carolina, which was nearly a stunning upset from the Utes. She helped the team overcome an early 11-point deficit with a career-high 37 points, but while the Utes pulled within two points of the lead, the Gamecocks held on to remain undefeated.

On top of her 37 points, Pili went 15-of-23 from the field, with a team-high three 3-pointers. She also added three steals, two rebounds, one assist and one block.

“If I’m a WNBA GM, there’s no doubt in my mind that kid can play in the WNBA,” Utah associate head coach Gavin Petersen said. “She’s a winner, she’s an assassin in between the lines and she’s a great teammate.”

In the second period, Pili had 14 consecutive points for Utah before foul trouble put her on the bench. She finished the first half with 21 points.

“I’d much rather get the win and have Pili score 37 on us, then her score 37 with the win,” Dawn Staley told the Associated Press. “Now, that’s a little bit hard to swallow. But, utmost respect for Pili. I mean, Utah, I hope we don’t see them in the tournament and whoever does get to see them, good luck to you.”

If you ask Pili, her performance came down to sticking with what works.

“I just went out there and did my thing,” Pili said. “Let the game come to me. It’s better when I don’t think about it, because it just comes to me.”

Paige Bueckers struggled in UConn’s 80-68 loss to Texas on Sunday, which head coach Geno Auriemma attributes to being off her game.

Bueckers had just five points before the half and finished the game with 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting. She also had four rebounds, four assists and two blocks. The 35 minutes were the most she’s played since the 2022 national championship game, which UConn lost to South Carolina.

The 2021 National Player of the Year is still progressing after missing all of last season with a torn ACL. And since Azzi Fudd went down in November with a season-ending ACL and meniscal tear in her right knee, Bueckers has taken on an even greater scoring load, which has forced her into taking shots when they aren’t necessarily there.

“I thought she was lousy today. Quite honestly, I thought she was bad, and I told her that,” Auriemma told CT Insider after the Texas game. “You know, Paige isn’t good when she needs seven dribbles to get a shot off. Paige isn’t good when she’s got to, you know, take on guys one-against-two (or) one-against-three going in the lane. You know, forcing things, hoping to get to the free-throw line. That’s not her game. That’s not who she is.”

Fudd’s injury leaves Bueckers as UConn’s biggest weapon from beyond the arc, where she averages a team-high 43.3 percent. She’s also the only player on the team to have attempted more than 82 shots.

Senior forward Aaliyah Edwards has also stepped up in Fudd’s absence, leading the way with 22 points, six rebounds and three assists against Texas. Auriemma knows he’ll need more from Edwards, Bueckers and the rest of UConn’s healthy players as the team battles injuries once again. With three losses so far this season, the Huskies fell to No. 17 in this week’s AP Top 25, their lowest ranking in 30 years.

“​​It’s important that we get other people to contribute more and to feel more confident doing what they’re good at, you know. It’s noticeable on the road, you know, how difficult it is for some of these guys. And, again, there’s no substitute,” Auriemma told CT Insider last week. “It’s not possible to beat good teams unless we get more contributions from other people.”

UConn fell to its lowest ranking in 30 years on Monday, clocking in at No. 17 in the latest women’s college basketball AP Top 25.

The ranking brings UConn’s 357-week stretch of being in the top 15 to an end. It was the second-longest such span in AP poll history, dating back to 1977. Tennessee holds the record for the longest top-15 streak at 428 consecutive weeks.

The Huskies were last ranked this low in 1993-94, when they were No. 18 in the second poll that season. The last time they fell out of the top 15 was in 2005.

UConn’s drop in ranking comes after they suffered their first-ever loss to Texas on Sunday. The Longhorns, who had been ranked 10th, moved up to No. 5 in the latest poll. UConn (4-3) hasn’t lost three games this early in a season since 1980. Their three losses, however, have come against some of the best teams in the country — Texas, UCLA and NC State are all now in the top five.

The road doesn’t get much easier as the Huskies continue to face a tough schedule without star guard Azzi Fudd, out for the season with a knee injury, and junior guard Caroline Ducharme (neck spasms).

South Carolina maintained its hold on the No. 1 ranking, taking all 35 first-place votes. UCLA, NC State and Iowa rounded out the top four.

Caitlin Clark is nearing Kelsey Plum’s NCAA scoring record, and Plum has some advice for the Iowa star.

“I understand the importance of it, but let’s just say when she breaks it, I’ll be very, very happy,” Plum, a former guard at the University of Washington and now a two-time WNBA champion with the Las Vegas Aces, told the Associated Press.

First, Clark has one milestone to pass: the 3,000-point marker. She has a chance to do so on Wednesday against Iowa State, as she enters the game with 2,954 points. If she does, she’d be the fastest to reach 3,000 points in 109 games, four more than current record-holder Elena Delle Donne.

Plum holds the all-time NCAA Division I scoring mark with 3,527 career points, and Clark is on pace to surpass it by the end of February. She’s also within reach of Pete Maravich’s all-time Division I scoring record of 3,667 points.

Plum has said the attention surrounding her pursuit of the record in 2016 took a toll on her mental health and followed her into the WNBA, where she was the No. 1 draft pick. She advised Clark to keep the milestones in perspective.

“I feel like people started caring less about the game and more about just the individual points,” Plum said. “You can play really well and score 15, 20 points and have a great game and people will be like, ‘Aw, it was only a 20-point game.’

“It was tough for me because I felt like I lost a little bit of my identity and it ultimately led to a tough transition into the (WNBA) because the expectations were so high. So, if anything, I’d try to send her as much compassion and love as I can and I hope the people around her are checking in with her … because it’s going to be tough to feel like you’re just playing basketball.”

Clark is also on pace to become the first player in D-I history — men’s or women’s — to register 3,000 points and 1,000 assists for her career.

As she chases multiple records, Clark’s popularity has already reached astronomical heights.

“The way people have on our jerseys, the way people have on Iowa clothes, it’s just not the same for every other program,” Clark said. “So, I think for me, it’s ‘just don’t let it overwhelm you. Don’t let the moment pass you by.’ Living in the now is super important. It’s really special.

“These are going to be some of the best moments of my life that I get to share with my best friends, as a kid who’s 21 years old in college. I play this game because I love it. I play because it’s fun. And when I play that way, that’s what allows me to be as good as I am.”