LSU women’s basketball: Projecting starters, key reserves | LSU

The LSU women’s basketball team looked sharp in its first exhibition game Thursday.

The No. 9 Tigers have one more scrimmage to play this Thursday against Loyola-New Orleans before they begin their sixth season under coach Kim Mulkey at home Nov. 2 against Southeastern Louisiana.

Can LSU return to the Final Four this year?

Its chances depend on how well Mulkey’s five newcomers coalesce around her six returners. Not all 11 of them will see meaningful minutes come January, but the Tigers need eight or nine of them to emerge as trusted rotation players before then.

Let’s try to project what that group of players will look like once the Tigers start gearing up for the NCAA Tournament in 2027.

Starting five

PG Jada Williams, G MiLaysia Fulwiley, G Mikaylah Williams, F Grace Knox, F Noa Morro

Fulwiley moves from the bench to the starting lineup; Morro slides into the spot Kate Koval left behind in August; and Jada Williams takes over as point guard.

The group has a little bit of everything Mulkey needs from her starters. Two dynamic guards who can score both in the half court and transition. A lead ballhandler who can set up her teammates for open looks. And a pair of post players who can gobble up rebounds and score around the rim. Both Knox and Morro, a senior from Spain, are listed at 6-foot-3.

Mulkey won’t be able to use the lineup, though, until Morro returns from an injury in late November. Expect to see the versatile wing ZaKiyah Johnson start next to Knox in the meantime.

Johnson could find herself in the starting lineup even after Morro returns if Mulkey decides it’s better to bring Fulwiley off the bench. The senior guard who transferred from South Carolina to LSU in 2025 has started only four games in her career. She fit nicely into a reserve role last season, allowing the Tigers to throw one of the country’s most electrifying players at opposing reserves.

LSU could decide that it needs Fulwiley and Mikaylah Williams on the floor at the same time as often as possible. Defending one of them is tough. Defending both of them is even harder.

Fulwiley is expected to play heavy minutes whether she starts or not. The Tigers will need her to help them close out tight games, too.

First off bench

G Laila Reynolds, G/F ZaKiyah Johnson, F Lola Lampley

Reynolds moves to the bench after starting 97 games in three years at Florida, and Lampley slides down to the post.

Lampley, a McDonald’s All-American from Indiana, was recruited as a perimeter player, but Mulkey wanted to find a spot for the 6-2 freshman inside her rotation, and LSU needs frontcourt depth more than it needs backcourt help.

LSU did something similar last season with Johnson, and she wound up playing an important role. The do-it-all forward scored 8.2 points and grabbed 5.8 rebounds per game in the 20 minutes she played, on average, once the Tigers hit Southeastern Conference play in January.

Reynolds, Johnson and Lampley are versatile defenders and high-level athletes. LSU needs them to force turnovers, grab rebounds and race out in transition, helping Jada Williams, Fulwiley, Mikaylah Williams and Knox find easy buckets.

Mulkey is particularly high on Reynolds, in large part because she thinks her best traits fit nicely into LSU’s preferred style of play.

“The speed was one thing,” Mulkey said. “The length … she’s a good 6-foot. I think she has the ability to create harassment the more comfortable she gets in the system and plays more physical every day.”

Other potential contributors

PG Chloe Larry, C Anna Minaeva, F Meghan Yarnevich

Minaeva, a 6-5 freshman from Russia, is oozing with potential, but she won’t turn 18 years old until January. She missed LSU’s first exhibition game with a minor quad injury.

Larry is a 5-6 point guard who played the first two years at Tennessee Tech, averaging 12.5 points per game on 38% shooting. She’s a Shreveport native who played her high school basketball with Mikaylah Williams.

Yarnevich is a 6-foot forward who’s back for her sophomore season after appearing in seven SEC games as a freshman.

Minaeva could carve out consistent minutes this season, but she’ll first need to adjust to the speed and physicality of the SEC. Mulkey and her staff should find out in November exactly how much she can contribute to a team that has hopes of competing for a national title.