Kim Mulkey is 2-5 versus Dawn Staley and South Carolina in her career.
When Mulkey accepted the job as the head coach of LSU women’s basketball, she was 2-0 versus Staley. All five losses have come during her tenure at LSU.
Also, her only two wins came within 120 days of each other and in the same season.
On December 2, 2018, Mulkey marched her Baylor Bears into Columbia, South Carolina, and crushed Staley’s team 94-69.
Then Mulkey and Staley met again on March 30, 2019, with a trip to the Elite 8 on the line. Mulkey’s Bears handled business again, posting another 25-point win over the Gamecocks, 93-68.
Admittedly, the 2018-2019 Baylor Bears were insanely talented, ultimately being crowned national champions.
With a 37-1 record they topped the Big 12, winning the regular season and tournament championship titles. Even with LSU’s national championship team in 2022-2023, the Tigers couldn’t get one over on the Gamecocks.
Mulkey has another chance to get the best of Staley, this time with a 7:30 p.m. CT reservation made at the PMAC for a Valentine’s Day affair.
What makes this year different are some glaring similarities between the 2018-2019 Bears and 2025-2026 Tigers, as well as the difference in Staley’s teams in both seasons.
At the same time, Mulkey boasts a deeper roster, maybe the deepest during her tenure at LSU.
For Mulkey’s Baylor team, only eight players appeared in at least 30 of its 38 game season, with all eight recording double-digit minutes played on average.
30 marks roughly 80% of games played that season. Through LSU’s 25 games, 80% of the games played so far are 20 games.
If you compare the workload to LSU’s roster this season, 11 of the 12 players have played 20 games. Additionally, 10 of those players record double-digit minutes on average.
Many fans know that depth is an advantage unlike any other in basketball.
“Unselfish — I’ve got a whole bench full of starters,” Mulkey said following a 40-point win over Alabama. “And upperclassmen, Flau’jae and Mikaylah, are trying to be as unselfish as they can be to make the others better.”
Often, programs have a drop off in production as the roster gets deeper. But even with LSU’s depth, there is no drop off in production.
LSU is the highest scoring team in the nation, scoring an average of 96.6 points per game.
The Tigers have eight players who average over nine points per game, with four sitting in the double-digits.
Compare that to Mulkey’s Bears, who posted an average of 81.7 points per game, with only four players averaging over nine points per game — all four are in the double digits.
So now that it’s established that LSU can score, it has to be addressed that South Carolina can as well. As the No. 3 ranked scoring offense, this game may easily become a shootout.
Mulkey’s key to success over Staley? Stifling the shooting, on every inch of the court.
The 2018-19 Gamecock team finished the season averaging about 43% from the field and 33% from behind the arc.
In her two wins at Baylor, Mulkey’s team held South Carolina to an average of 34% from the field and 23% from behind the 3-point line.
Mulkey needs to find that same defensive success for this game, as South Carolina boasts a top 10 shooting unit in the country. Hitting nearly 52% from the field and 38% from behind the 3-point line, Mulkey will have her hands full for this matchup.
LSU has improved consistently over the season on the defensive front, struggling in some of the harder early season games. Despite that, the Tigers are limiting their opponents to shooting just 34% from the field, the fourth lowest in the nation. From behind the arc is a bit different, with an average of 28%, ranked the No. 64 perimeter defense.
If Mulkey wants to top Staley for the third time in her career — her first since arriving at Baton Rouge — she can think back to her time from Baylor, and build on it.
