The LSU just suffered its second consecutive loss of the season. As expected, it didn’t come easy. While the Tigers kept fighting neck and neck, it was the officiating call in the final seconds that made the difference.

Vanderbilt led LSU 62-61 late in the fourth quarter. But, everything shifted when Mikayla Blakes caught an inbounds pass near the sideline. On replay, it appeared Blakes may have stepped out of bounds as she secured the ball. But no officials called an out-of-bounds violation, so the game continued.

And that’s when Kim Mulkey stepped in. “I begged for it,” Mulkey said in the postgame press conference. “I thought I could run and tell them, the dead ball would come. And I tried to tell them, this is critical. We get the ball back down three. What can I do? All I can do is go over there, and they told me that’s not reviewable. Well, I thought with a change in rules, it is reviewable.”

But it wasn’t. That’s because NCAA rules allow coaches to challenge out-of-bounds violations only if an official called the out-of-bounds. However, it never happened. So Mulkey could not challenge a missed out-of-bounds call, even if the replay clearly shows it.

Later, Vanderbilt’s spokesperson confirmed the new rules. He said that the changed rules do not allow coaches to challenge a no-call on an out-of-bounds play, even if the team has called a timeout.

So Blakes continued playing. She made 1 of 2 free throws, extending Vanderbilt’s lead to three points and effectively sealing the 65-61 upset. Well, that’s a hard loss, especially when the team was 14-1 so far. But if you ask Mulkey, these losses must have come before.

What Does Kim Mulkey Thinks About The Schedule? 

A 14-0 record. Eight games with a century mark, which is also an NCAA women’s basketball record for most consecutive games reaching the 100-point mark. That’s how LSU started the 2025-26 season, with a little help from an easy schedule.

Now, we’re not saying this, but Mulkey shared it herself. “If we hadn’t played that schedule, we might be sitting here with a lot of losses,” Mulkey told Cory Diaz of The Daily Advertiser.

And perhaps the head coach is right. Her team would have accumulated more losses by now, been better equipped to handle in-game adversity, and would have found ways to win tight games. After all, that’s the exact strategy Mulkey used to win the 2022-23 championship title.

But there are a lot more games on the way to help the LSU Tigers improve. Will they?

Written by

Yashika Dutta

Edited by

Joyita Das