ROGERS SCOREBOARD - Feb. 19, 2026 - Basketball Manitoba
Kim Mulkey says this coaching decision allowed LSU to rally v Ole Miss
The decision that Kim Mulkey felt ultimately won LSU women's basketball the game over Ole Miss, she initially thought it may have been too late.
Ole Miss led the Tigers, 69-59, with 6:24 remaining. The shift to a bigger lineup that featured senior Amiya Joyner and sophomore Kate Koval inside coupled with throwing different defenders and looks at Rebels' leading scorer Cotie McMahon sparked the comeback. LSU went on a 19-1 run to close out the game and survive, 78-70, inside Sandy and John Black Pavilion Thursday night.
With the victory, LSU (23-4, 9-4) has grabbed sole possession of fourth place in the Southeastern Conference standings, meaning it's in the driver's seat for the double bye at the conference tournament in a couple of weeks.
Junior star guard MiLaysia Fulwiley turned in a career high 26 points, scoring 22 in the second half to help will the Tigers to the rally over Ole Miss (21-7, 8-5).
Kim Mulkey on the coaching decision that allowed LSU women's basketball to rally vs Ole Miss
"I think a decision we made as a staff to go big was very effective. I just thought there were taking my two young freshmen off the drive and that's why I didn't go big thinking that, you know, they could move laterally a little bit better. What was killing us was second, third shots and I thought Kate and (Joyner) were just solid together. That was a big decision and I'm not sure I ever thought I would do that in this game tonight. But I did and it worked."
Kim Mulkey on what LSU did differently defensively on Cotie McMahon
"We mixed it up. We went to that 3-2 zone. Might have stayed in it a little too long. They hit some three's when we were in it and then we went back man, just trying to mix it up a little bit. Keep her off balanced. She's so explosive and so powerful and with that, she just is just so quick. We threw different people at her. (Fulwiley) was on her one minute and got a couple of steals, then Jada (Richard) and Bella (Hines), Mikaylah (Williams), anybody we could. Giving her different bodies to look at. You're not going to guard her 1-on-1. We made sure when she turned a corner, somebody else is there to help."
Kim Mulkey on MiLaysia Fulwiley's career night vs Ole Miss
"God bless this child with speed. I wouldn't want to be on the floor with her because when she takes off, you better put it in high gear. She'll find you and a lot of times, honestly, she looks to pass too much. She needs to get to the rim and finish and draw fouls."
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Kim Mulkey details LSU women's basketball comeback win over Ole Miss
High school girls basketball: Maple Mountain controls the glass, bounces Olympus for 5A quarterfinal berth
Three years ago when Maple Mountain’s current seniors were freshmen, they suffered through a miserable 1-19 season. The context of that frustration is what made Thursday’s 5A second round road victory at Olympus all the more special.
Spurred on by dominance on the offensive glass and timely 3-point shooting, No. 10 seed Maple Mountain beat No. 7 Olympus 60-55 to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2021.
“It’s a big deal for us,” said Maple Mountain coach Dave Lainhart. “Our girls are confident. We’re excited to go there and compete, honestly.”
Maple Mountain never trailed after taking the lead late in the first quarter, and its 15 offensive rebounds were a big reason why.
Those boards led to 14 second-chance points, including half of the team’s field goals in the second half.
Lainhart said rebounding was perhaps the biggest focus for his team ahead of the game.
“That was a huge focus of ours because of (Cammie) Bontempo. We watched game film on them and Alta, and she had 21 boards in their win against Alta, so that was a focus. If we don’t rebound, we don’t win,” said Lainhart.
“You gotta control the glass because it gives you extra possessions anyways.”
Offensively, Maple Mountain is a team that relies a lot on 3-point shooting volume, and though it shot a lower percentage than normal on Thursday, it still made 8 of 30 in the win.
Leah Bailey led the way for Maple Mountain with 22 points and three 3-pointers, while Ashlynn Lainhart made three treys of her own.
“It’s definitely a strategy. What we try to do is try to get paint touches with kicks, because instead of just jacking it up, paint touches and then a kick creates good shots,” said Dave Lainhart.
With the win, Maple Mountain advances to Monday’s quarterfinals at 5:50 p.m. against No. 2 seed Bountiful, the three-time defending state champion.
The teams met in the preseason back in December, with Bountiful rallying in the fourth quarter for the 53-48 win.
Maple Mountain made seven 3-pointers in that game, and will likely need an uptick in volume to pull off the upset.
Even though Maple Mountain led most of the game on Thursday, it was tight throughout. It only led 21-17 after the first quarter, 36-35 at the half and 52-48 after three.
An Autumn Jones 3-pointer gave the Golden Eagles their biggest lead of the game at 48-38 midway through the third, but it actually seemed to ratchet up the urgency for the Titans.
They closed the quarter on a 10-4 run, and then opened the fourth with a 3-point play from Ava Blair to close to within 52-51.
With all the momentum on Olympus’ side, Maple Mountain wrestled it right back with offensive rebounds.
On the ensuing possession, Bailey scored on a rebound-putback to push the lead back to 54-51. Following a missed Olympus 3-pointer that could’ve tied the game, Maple Mountain corralled three offensive rebounds on the same possession, with Bailey again scoring on a putback for the 56-51 lead.
Bailey then stretched the lead to 59-51 with 4:58 remaining on a three-point play.
At the other end, Olympus went scoreless for over seven minutes on nine straight misses. By the time it scored again on a Blair layup, only 37 seconds remained and it still trailed 59-53.
Coach Lainhart believes a defensive shift in the fourth quarter contributed to the Titans’ late struggles offensively.
“We changed our strategy at the beginning of the fourth, which was our game plan anyway to try and stop (Kya) Newton. She’s a heck of a player,” said Lainhart.
“It’s unexpected a little bit, because they get used to playing a certain way and then the fourth, they have to adjust.”
Newton led Olympus in the loss with 21 points, with Bontempo adding 11.