At a university where nearly every athletic program is nationally relevant, there’s never a shortage of options. There are always electric playmakers to be found.
The Reveille Athlete of the Week is LSU women’s basketball Kailyn Gilbert.
The Arizona transfer has been a crucial addition to this year’s roster, delivering in crunch time multiple times this season, most recently, against Tennessee.
With the game tied and just seconds on the clock, Gilbert drove to the lane, spinning as she drained a hook shot with her left hand, leaving less than a second on the clock.
It would amount to LSU’s most impressive win of the season, though without Gilbert the game would not have gone the same.
She finished with 22 points, five rebounds and an assist. It was her third straight game with over 15 points, all in SEC play.
“I feel like I’m 6-foot walking around, so I don’t see nothing when those girls are in the paint,” Gilbert said. “They’re women just like me.”
Wednesday’s game winner was not the only time Gilbert has come through late this year.
She sank another game winner against Washington in November and made a 3-pointer with 17 seconds on the clock against Stanford.
Saving the team from three losses within just a couple months of play sufficiently emphasizes the importance of Gilbert to this Tigers’ roster.
Gilbert was cut from Arizona’s roster just under a year ago before transferring to LSU in the spring.
Since then her role under head coach Kim Mulkey has been invaluable. Able to generate offense at will, her aggressive cutting frequently opening up a sometimes lagging Tiger offense.
“I think KG can get past anybody if she wants to,” LSU guard Aneesah Morrow said. “You gotta guard her as honest as you possibly can.”
Further, her improvement on off-ball defense has been credited by Mulkey.
Last season’s team struggled with a thin bench that wasn’t always able to contribute. This put pressure on the starters to do more with less rest.
In the portal, Mulkey added a number of valuable additions. Gilbert headlines this group, already one of the most important names on the team.
This season she averages 11.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per games in 20.8 minutes per game.
“KG can score the basketball as good as any perimeter player I’ve ever coached,” Mulkey said.
A guard who can create steals, activate an offense and improve as the pressure increases is about the best you can ask for out of a bench player.
Gilbert will be a fundamental part of defining how far LSU is capable of going in the postseason.
