Kim Mulkey Requests Prayers for LSU Player Amid Team Absence
The No. 5-ranked LSU Tigers women's basketball team improved its record in the 2025-26 NCAA regular season to 5-0 with yet another dominant 112-49 win over Alcorn State on November 20.
The Tigers have scored at least 100 points in every single game this season, including their two preseason contests. While this is extremely impressive, the reality is that none of the teams they've faced to this point come close to the talent level that Kim Mulkey has on their roster, and anything less than blowout victories against each opponent would have been concerning.
However, the Tigers' win on Thursday night came relatively short-handed, as the team didn't have senior guard Kailyn Gilbert active for the game.
Gilbert transferred to LSU from the University of Arizona after the 2023-24 season and averaged 9.1 points on 19.2 minutes per game in the 2024-25 campaign. Through this point in the 2025-26 season, Gilbert has averaged 5.6 points on 13.8 minutes per game.
Kim Mulkey Sends Emotional Message Over Kailyn Gilbert's Absence
Kim Mulkey spoke with the media after the game and addressed Gilbert's absence from the team.
"[Kailyn Gilbert], I'm gonna try not to get emotional, has been dealing with family issues for a long time," Mulkey said while appearing to wipe tears from her eyes, per an X post from Cory Diaz of The Daily Advertiser. "A 22-year-old should not have to be dealing with what she's dealing with. And she needs to help somebody in her family. And she's so mature.
"We just ask everybody to pray for her, because she always does the right thing," she added.
Kim Mulkey on Kailyn Gilbert, why she was away from the team tonight and her status:#LSU pic.twitter.com/hJBlKZIcvH
— Cory Diaz (@ByCoryDiaz) November 21, 2025
There's clearly something personal going on in Gilbert's life that Mulkey doesn't feel the need to address publicly at this point, probably out of a desire to keep a family matter private. But there's no question that the LSU Tigers community will rally around Gilbert and give her whatever support she needs in what sounds like a difficult time.
In the meantime, Mulkey's Tigers squad might need to get used to competing without Gilbert. The good news for them is that they aren't facing very challenging opponents in their next two contests (Marist on November 28 and either Miami of Ohio or Washington State on November 29, as part of the 2025 Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
They play the Duke Blue Devils on December 4, but Duke (who started the season ranked No. 7) has not been playing well to this point.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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