Getty Kim Mulkey.
LSU Coach Kim Mulkey has revealed what she told Iowa basketball great Caitlin Clark after LSU’s loss to Clark’s team in the Elite 8 on April 1.
Mulkey revealed the nature of the conversation during her post-game press conference. You can watch a clip from the press conference below.
Iowa is heading to the Final Four after defeating LSU in a game dominated by Clark.
Here’s what you need to know:
LSU Coach Kim Mulkey Told Caitlin Clark, ‘I Sure Am Glad You’re Leaving’
Kim Mulkey on what she told Caitlin Clark in the handshake line: “I sure am glad you leaving. Girl, you something else. Never seen anything like it.” 😅
Mulkey was asked what she said to Clark in the handshake line, and the strategy she deployed against her, by a reporter during the post-game press conference.
“What went into the strategy in terms of how you wanted to defend Caitlin Clark? And then also just wondering, it seemed like you had a long embrace and some kind words for her after the game in the handshake line. Just wondering if you wanted to share what those were?” the journalist asked Mulkey.
“There’s not a whole lot of strategy,” she said. “You’ve got to guard her. No one else seems to be able to guard her. We didn’t even guard her last year when we beat them. She’s just a generational player. She just makes everybody around her better. That’s what the great ones do. I think they had a kid that scored 21 in 18; she had 12 assists.”
Mulkey added, “Caitlin Clark’s not going to beat you by herself. It’s what she does to make those other teammates better that helps her score points and them score points to beat you.”
She then revealed what she told Clark, saying, “What did I say to her? I said, ‘I sure am glad you’re leaving.’ I said, ‘Girl, you’re something else. Never seen anything like it.'”
Caitlin Clark’s 9 3-Pointers Tied an NCAA Tournament Record
GettyAngel Reese revealed her message to Caitlin Clark as Iowa advanced to the Final Four.
According to the New York Post, Clark scored 41 points against LSU and had 12 assists and seven rebounds. She shot “13-of-29 from the field and 9-of-20 from deep,” the Post reported.
Clark’s score included nine 3-pointers which, according to The Post, “tied the NCAA Women’s Tournament record.”
In the post-game press conference, Mulkey said Iowa’s pace “dictated that third quarter,” and that’s when it hit LSU.
Mulkey said she didn’t ask how bad Angel Reese’s sprained ankle was because the “trainer never came to see me.” She said Reese “being hobbled” wasn’t why they lost the game.
Mulkey was also asked why the LSU team was not on the floor for the National Anthem, and she said that was not done intentionally.
Mulkey said she would feel proud of her team when she looked back at the season. She said she was going to “think of the little things that we overcame, that put us in the Elite 8. You’re one game away from going back to the Final Four. I’m going to eventually think of, ‘How did we get here?'”
She said, “I learn every day as a coach.”
READ NEXT: Caitlin Clark’s Dad, Brent Clark.