LSU Tigers women's basketball head coach Kim Mulkey had some choice words for the officiating in the SEC Tournament championship game, which she believes may have led to the altercation toward the end of the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
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LSU's Kim Mulkey sounds off on SEC Championship melee: 'Don't push somebody that little' https://t.co/sPhGkFHIOA
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To recap, it started with Tigers guard Flau'jae Johnson pushing Gamecocks guard Ashlyn Watkins. The push came after Watkins taunted Johnson after she committed a foul.
From there, Gamecocks center Kamilla Cardoso, six-foot-seven, came over and pushed Johnson.
Things escalated even further with Johnson's brother jumping over the scorer's table from a seat in the crowd. He left the court in handcuffs.
After the game, Mulkey drew attention to what she perceived to be a lack of foul calls in the final quarter.
"Do you realize there was only one foul called on each team with two minutes left in the fourth quarter?" she said. "Are you kidding me? That might have created some of that. Not the way we play. We're going to foul your ass. They're going to foul your ass. You only blew the whistle one time? Think about that now.
"Flau'jae, what I saw, intentionally fouled (Milaysia) Fulwiley because she stripped her. Great move because she's gonna get a layup right there. Then some jawing went on with her and another player and the next thing I know Cardoso just waylaid her. So I ran because somebody came out of the stands — I think it was Flau'jae's brother — trying to keep him from doing anything crazy."
Not only did Mulkey criticize the officials, but she also called out Cardoso for pushing the much smaller in stature Johnson.
"I wish she would have pushed Angel Reese," Mulkey said. "When you're (6-7), don't push somebody that little. That was uncalled for in my opinion. Let those two girls that were jawing, let them go at it."
Following the fight, Johnson received an intentional foul, and Cardoso was ejected. Other players were ejected for vacating their benches.
"Why weren't the coaches tossed if they left the bench?" Mulkey continued. "Wouldn't that be a hell of an ending? I guess it's just the players that leave the bench area. It's ugly. It's not good. No one wants to be a part of that."
Toward the end of the game, LSU had just five players, and South Carolina had six.
The Gamecocks won 79-72 and are now 33-0.
