GREENVILLE, S.C. – Kim Mulkey spent this week leading up the SEC Tournament, her fourth as LSU women's basketball coach, exactly where she needed to be.
The Tigers are one of the top teams in the SEC and have their sights set on playing meaningful postseason basketball games. While her team prepared for the league tourney and taking on No. 11 seed Florida up first Friday night inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Mulkey wasn't with her team.
Mulkey had been away, grieving an unexpected death in her family .
"My week was awful," Mulkey said after LSU's 101-87 win over Florida in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. "My mind still isn't good. I don't feel good, first of all. But we all deal with death. I've dealt with a stillborn grandchild, but I was prepared for that. We're prepared for our parents, for our grandparents. It's the unexpected ones that throw you for a loop.
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"I was where I was supposed to be."
LSU associate head coach Bob Starkey assumed head coaching duties earlier in the week when Mulkey stepped away. Starkey has experience with the situation before, as he assumed head coaching duties for LSU during its run to the Final Four in 2007.
"I've been blessed on these few times where I had to take over to have a really, really good team. The better the players, the better the coach," Starkey said after the game. "Coach Mulkey has given me the blueprint.
"I really think the kids deserve the credit. Easily they could have been distracted, used some of this as excuses. I was just really proud of how they responded."
For the players, they said preparation for their first SEC Tournament game was a little bit different with Starkey handling practices. Starkey said that he and Mulkey talked several times throughout the week and that she was involved in the team's gameplanning.
"It was different," said LSU star senior forward Aneesah Morrow, who scored a LSU program record 36 points along with 14 rebounds in the win. "You know, losing two games, then having to travel, getting that two-day break, just trying to get everyone in that good mental state when we need to be in.
"(With Starkey acting has head coach) it felt the same honestly. We spent a lot of time with coach Bob. He does a great job with scout. Going into the SEC Tournament, it's tougher because you have a lot more film on teams. So I feel like it's more of the coaches' adjustment and I think he did a great job with adjustments."
What's a Starkey-ran practice like? It's feels, looks and sounds mostly the same, players said, but Starkey does bring his own intensity and energy.
"It's intense," LSU point guard Last-Tear Poa said. "Even with coach Bob and coach Mulkey, it's intense. But he's always lifting up the intensity and the energy. We admire what he says and his experiences."
Tigers sophomore guard Mikaylah Williams said the LSU players kept Mulkey on their minds as they navigated the week without their head coach. LSU wanted to play inspired basketball for their coach.
"It's bigger than basketball," Williams said. "So coach Bob took over and we kind of just played for (Mulkey). We stayed disciplined, we stayed sticking to the plan.
"We didn't miss a beat. If you ask coach Mulkey, she wants us to be able to coach each other. We did that on top of what coach Bob and on top of Flau'jae (Johnson being out). So we didn't miss a beat."
Mulkey loves the game of basketball but nothing compares to the love she has for her family. She took a seat – which she never does during games she coaches – on down the bench, next to her players. She cheered, she leaned in to watch and did at times let the referees know they missed a call.
It's unclear if Mulkey will resume the head coach chair for LSU's SEC Tournament semifinal game against 2-seed Texas Saturday night. But she needed Starkey to be LSU's coach against Florida.
"What I didn't want is to be a distraction and I don't think I was. I think I was the biggest cheerleader. I was able to go back and sit on the middle of the bench and be able to communicate to the players in a different capacity," Mulkey said.
"I wasn't coming in here and taking over. I told Bob before the game started you are coaching tonight. You know what you've done all week to prepare our team. I'm going to be with a few suggestion. But no. Only time heals your heart."
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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 bdiaz@gannett.com .
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: With Kim Mulkey away, how LSU didn't miss a beat at SEC Tournament
