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Why Kim Mulkey said LSU's overtime loss at Alabama was 'a poorly officiated game'
- Story byThe Daily Advertiser
- Why Kim Mulkey said LSU's overtime loss at Alabama was 'a poorly officiated game'
By game's end Thursday night, three of the best players between LSU women's basketball and Alabama were peeling themselves off the bench for the final handshake line after having to watch the final minutes play out.
Flau'jae Johnson fouled out. Alabama's top scorere, Aaliyah Nye, was relegated to the bench before her, with more than three minutes left in regulation. On the same play that Johnson fouled out, the Crimson Tide 's other super senior, Sarah Ashlee Barker, fouled out when she swung an elbow and made contact with Johnson's lip, which was bloodied.
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No. 20 Alabama, which led most of the game, outlasted No. 7 LSU, 88-85, in overtime inside Coleman Coliseum in a basketball game that was far from smooth.
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"It just didn't flow for either team," LSU coach Kim Mulkey said after the game.
One of the main culprits in her eyes? The officiating and the procedurals, especially late in the game, of going to the monitor to examines calls, prospective calls and confirming made shots were 2- or 3-pointers.
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"That was a poorly officiated game and I bet if you asked (Alabama coach Kristy) Curry, she'd say the same thing. Think about what all we saw take place tonight. Is that basketball?" Mulkey said. "I don't even know some of the things. I was asking questions like, 'What is that call? What are you saying? What are you going to the monitor now?
"Let me make it clear: that had nothing to do with us losing. We had a chance to win."
In all, 39 fouls were called between LSU (27-3, 12-3 SEC) and the Crimson Tide (19-9, 10-5).
LSU's top two scorers, Johnson and sophomore Mikaylah Williams, battled foul trouble all game, each having two separate stints to sit for extended periods. LSU star senior forward Aneesah Morrow was assessed a technical foul after a foul was called on one of her teammates.
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Alabama had fend off the Tigers without Nye in the final 3:26 of regulation and overtime. Barker was sent to the bench with 31 ticks remaining, the Tide clinging to a 86-84 lead as Williams stepped to the line after the intentional foul.
Williams went 1-for-2, and Alabama's Zaay Green iced the game by making two free throws with 3 seconds left.
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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: Kim Mulkey on LSU's loss at Alabama: 'A poorly officiated game'
