LSU lost a close game to South Carolina, falling 79-72 despite a late push for the victory. The loss taught head coach Kim Mulkey something about freshman guard Bella Hines.
“I saw a kid that I need to play more,” Mulkey said about Hines in the postgame press conference. “She needs to take away some of the minutes of some of them because she got out there and guarded Tessa [Johnson]. She wasn’t afraid…She made shots. She had a lot of energy and effort, and she has my respect.”
Hines doesn’t usually play much, finding herself stuck behind Flau’jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams, Jada Richard, and MiLaysia Fulwiley in a strong guard rotation. She currently averages 12.7 minutes per game and barely played against ranked opponents before.
Hines played a solid game against South Carolina
Despite only playing six minutes and spending the entire first half on the bench, Bella Hines was one of LSU’s most productive bench players. She finished with six points on 3-4 shooting and 1 rebound. Fulwiley also scored six points off the bench.
In the third, Hines beat Tessa Johnson off the dribble and sank a jump shot for her first two points of the game. A few possessions later, she hit a free-throw line jumper over Raven Johnson, looking very confident against the senior guard. When she subbed back into the game in the fourth quarter, Hines almost immediately scored off an offensive rebound.
The freshman also guarded Tessa Johnson, who was giving LSU some serious trouble. She barely even touched the ball with Hines face-guarding her. Hines committed a couple of fouls, but also took a charge on a moving screen by Joyce Edwards.
It was an impressive performance from a freshman going up against one of the top teams in the country. With four games left in the regular season, including two against ranked opponents, Hines should get a few opportunities to replicate her success against South Carolina.
LSU has an interesting group of freshmen
Kim Mulkey has five freshmen on the roster this season: Meghan Yarnevich, Grace Knox, ZaKiyah Johnson, Bella Hines, and Divine Bourrage. Johnson and Knox lead that group in minutes per game with 19.5 and 18.1, respectively. They filled a frontcourt void left by Aneesah Morrow’s and Angel Reese’s departures.
Knox, Johnson, and Hines already proved that they could play meaningful minutes for a good basketball team, and Bourrage came in 24th in SportsCenter’s Next 100.
If all the freshmen and sophomores Jada Richard and Kate Koval stay together, LSU will have a strong team even when Flau’jae Johnson, MiLaysia Fulwiley, and Mikaylah Williams leave for the WNBA.