Productive, Consistent Post Play Will Be Critical for LSU Women’s Basketball in NCAA Tournament

By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter

LSU women’s basketball’s most recent NCAA Tournament runs have highlighted a consistent formula: elite post play is essential in March.

The Tigers have reached four straight Elite Eights, fueled by some of the nation’s top post players – Angel Reese, Aneesah Morrow and LaDazhia Williams, to name a few. While this year’s team doesn’t feature the same dominant presence in the post, LSU will rely on what has worked all season: production by committee.

Guards often draw the spotlight in March, but head coach Kim Mulkey remains committed to her post-centered philosophy.

“We’re playing against some of the best post players in this particular bracket – big, tall, everything runs through them so that the guards do better,” Mulkey said Sunday. “So I don’t buy that it’s a guard-driven deal in the playoffs. If you have a post, your offense usually runs through them. We’re going to continue to do what we do.”

With that said, LSU has shown it doesn’t need a single standout post player to be effective. The Tigers have held several of the SEC’s top forwards – Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers, Kentucky’s Clara Strack, South Carolina’s Madina Okot and Texas’ Kyla Oldacre – to under 20 points this season.

LSU may not have a player like Lauren Betts, but it boasts one of the deepest frontcourts in the country. Senior Amiya Joyner and sophomore Kate Koval have provided consistent production, while freshmen Grace Knox and ZaKiyah Johnson have added valuable depth.

ZaKiyah Johnson has been named to @ESPN’s Top 10 Most Impactful Freshmen list! pic.twitter.com/p4l5Ejfk5R

— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) March 14, 2026

“We’ve played eight, nine – sometimes the whole bench – depending on the game,” Mulkey said. “We’re not afraid to play them. You’ve got to have depth, and when that depth is seasoned, comfortable and confident, it helps you.”

Even without the dominant post presence it is accustomed to, experts around the country still believe LSU can make a deep tournament run.

“I don’t know that they have the traditional post play that maybe we’re thinking about, but I think LSU has enough physicality with Joyner and Knox,” ESPN bracketologist Charlie Crème said Tuesday on Tiger Rag Radio.

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Moving forward, LSU’s depth will be crucial. Without a singular dominant post presence like Reese or Morrow, every minute and every contribution matters. Whether it’s rebounding, scoring or defending the rim, the Tigers will need a collective effort in the paint to sustain another deep tournament run.