The LSU women’s basketball team is set to face its biggest challenge since its 92-78 loss to Colorado in the season opener.

On Thursday night, the No. 7 Tigers will host the No. 9 Virginia Tech Hokies at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center at 8 p.m. C.T. The game will be televised on ESPN as a part of the SEC/ACC Challenge.

Kim Mulkey is also looking for win No. 700 on Thursday night, making her the fastest Division 1 collegiate coach to reach that milestone.

“I’ve been blessed,” Mulkey said. “I’ve been blessed to coach great players. A good coach is only as good as their players.”

The Tigers and the Hokies are familiar with each other, as they faced in Dallas, Texas last season in the 2023 Final Four. LSU came away with a 79-72 win to advance to the national championship against Iowa.

Angel Reese, who scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in that Final Four matchup, will be back in action Thursday night after her four-game absence. 

However, Sa’Myah Smith, who has averaged 11.7 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game this season, will be out for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus. In addition, Mulkey said Kateri Poole is also not yet available for LSU.

“Angel’s back, Kateri’s not, and Sa’Myah is done for the year,” Mulkey said. “Sadly she tore her knee up.”

Virginia Tech returns three of its five starters from its Final Four team last season. Those three starters also happen to be the team’s three leading scorers.

Elizabeth Kitley is the leading scorer for the Hokies, and will provide a challenge for LSU right out the gate. The 6-foot-6 center averages 24.3 points per game, which is the sixth most in the country, and 11.5 rebounds per game, the ninth most in the country. 

She led Virginia Tech with 18 points and 12 rebounds in its Final Four matchup against LSU last season.

Georgia Ammore is also back for the Hokies. Against LSU last season, she shot four for 15 from behind the three-point line, finishing with 17 points.

This season, she’s averaging 17.0 points per game and 8.3 assists per game, which is the fourth most in the country. She’s also shot 35% from three thus far, including a 10 3-pointer performance in an 80-76 loss to Iowa.

Cayla King scored 14 points against LSU in the Final Four last season, and she also made four 3-pointers. This season, she’s Virginia Tech’s third-leading scorer with 8.3 points per game. She’s had two games this season with four made 3-pointers.

While there are a lot of similarities and familiar faces with this season’s Virginia Tech team from last season’s, Mulkey tries not to compare the two teams.

“I try not to compare. I don’t think that’s fair,” Mulkey said. “They have three starters back. So you look at those starters and then you look at everyone else around them.”

When it comes to everyone else around them, the Hokies have options. Including the three returning starters from last season, Virginia Tech has had nine players play in all six of its games this season.

Matilda Ekh, a junior transfer from Michigan State, came to Virginia Tech this season and is averaging 8.2 points and 4.5 rebounds. So where there were places to fill, the Hokies found a way to fill them.

But despite their options, nobody has had more control than the Hokies’ three returning starters. 

Standing at 6-foot-6, Kitley has been in several mismatches down low this season. She’s scored in double figures every game this season, and she’s recorded double-doubles in four of Virginia Tech’s six games. 

This being said, Virginia Tech getting the ball to Kitley down low has been its bread and butter, and something almost every opposing team had difficulty stopping this season.

In the times where Kitley is being contested, and there haven’t been many times, the Hokies have resorted to their 3-point shooting. Amoore, King and Ekh have attempted 121 of Virginia Tech’s 151 attempted 3-pointers, and the three have made 40 of the team’s 54 3-pointers.

With Smith now out for the season, Reese, Aneesah Morrow and Aalyah Del Rosario will be left with the task of controlling Kitley.

Morrow is already an undersized post player at 6 feet 1 inch, and while Del Rosario is 6 feet 6 inches, the true freshman will see arguably the toughest player to defend early in her college career.

The timing of Reese being back for LSU couldn’t be better, because just as it was last season, it’s expected to be a Kitley against Reese battle in the paint Thursday night. But Mulkey is confident in Reese that she will do her job for the Tigers.

“I think Angel will just be Angel,” Mulkey said. “She’s been good. She’s been really good.”

In games like this, all of LSU’s pieces will need to step up, especially when it comes to rebounding. Luckily enough for the Tigers, Flau’jae Johnson has been providing a lot of those.

The sophomore guard is coming off a 15-rebound performance against Virginia in the Cayman Islands and has grabbed eight rebounds or more in her last four games.

“I talk to her about an all-around game is what you want to have,” Mulkey said. “Her 15 rebounds, she had to go do that. With Morrow being kind of an undersized post-player when I was playing the four guards, Flau’jae was just huge.”

Johnson playing somewhat out of position has been the story with this season’s LSU team, and in most cases, it’s worked. But it will most likely be what LSU needs to do in order to pick up its biggest win thus far against Virginia Tech. 

Mulkey has seen a lot of growth from her team since the season-opening loss to Colorado. While things may not be perfect for them both on and off the court yet, she is confident in her Tigers ahead of Thursday night.

“It’s not going to be a polished product, but I know this, they’ll play hard,” Mulkey said.