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Katie Barnes, ESPN.com
BATON ROUGE, La. – For the second straight game, the LSU Tigers took the field Monday night without forward Angel Reese, who led the Tigers to their first national title last season.
No specific reason has been given for her absence from the No. 7 Tigers, who host Texas Southern.
The tension arose after the Tigers’ season opener, a 92-78 loss to then-No. 20 Colorado in Las Vegas. After the game, coach Kim Mulkey expressed disappointment but did not single out anyone.
“I’m disappointed with some individual players who I thought would be tougher, have some fight and leadership about them,” she said.
Reese was benched at halftime of the Tigers’ fourth game of the season, a 109–79 victory over Kent State. Mulkey called it a “coach’s decision.” Reese did not play at all in LSU’s 73-50 win over Southeast Louisiana on Nov. 17.
“Angel wasn’t in uniform,” Mulkey said after the game in Hammond, Louisiana. “Angel is a part of this basketball team and we hope to see her sooner rather than later.”
Reese has not addressed his absence publicly, but wrote on X: “Please don’t believe everything you read.”
Reese transferred to LSU from Maryland prior to the 2022-23 season, when she was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament. This season, she is averaging 17.0 points and 10.3 rebounds in four games.
LSU added several high-profile transfers in the offseason, including Aneesah Morrow and Hailey Van Lith. The Tigers also landed the top-ranked recruiting class. LSU returns to action Nov. 24 against Niagara in the Cayman Islands Classic.
