HAMMOND – All-American forward Angel Reese was not seen in the LSU women’s basketball team’s pregame warmups before its game against Southeastern Louisiana on Friday night.
Reese started the first half of No. 7 LSU’s win over Kent State on Tuesday morning but sat out the entire second half. She left on the Tigers’ second possession of the game after missing a three-pointer, but returned later in the quarter and played another 12 minutes.
After the game, Kim Mulkey declined to elaborate on why Reese missed the third and fourth quarters or why LSU winger Kateri Poole sat out the entire game. She called the absences “coach’s decisions.”
And on Thursday, she brushed aside a question about Reese’s playing status for the Southeastern game, saying, “You better get a ticket and see” whether she would start or play.
LSU spokesman Grant Kauvar declined to comment on Reese’s status before Friday’s game, saying Mulkey would address her absence afterward.
In four games this season, Reese averaged 17.0 points and 10.3 rebounds.
She averaged 23.0 points and 15.4 assists per game last season as the Tigers went 34-2 and won six straight games in the NCAA Tournament en route to the national championship.
Last year, LSU defeated Southeastern at home by just eight points, the narrowest margin of its entire non-conference schedule. This season, the Tigers will face the Lions on the road in Hammond, where Mulkey played her high school ball.
Before tip-off, Poole was in warm-up and going through her normal pre-game routine.