Angel Reese out for LSU vs. Niagara; 3rd-Straight Missed Game for Unspecified Reasons

LSU star Angel Reese is going to miss her third consecutive game for unspecified reasons.

Per Lindsay Schnell of USA Today, Reese was not with the team prior to tipoff of Friday's game against Niagara.

Zack Nagy of LSU Country noted the junior forward didn't travel with the Tigers to the Cayman Islands and will also miss Saturday's game against Virginia.

Reese played in each of LSU's first four games this season, but she was benched at halftime of a Nov. 14 win over Kent State.

Head coach Kim Mulkey called it a "coach's decision" and suggested she would have more to say on it but "I won't."

After Reese wasn't on the bench for LSU's wins over Southeast Louisiana and Texas Southern, Mulkey was asked about the situation but once again declined to offer specific details.

"Angel was not in uniform. She is a part of this basketball team," Mulkey told reporters on Monday. "We hope she's back with the team soon. I'm not going to answer any more than that."

Reese hasn't said anything publicly about the situation, though she has made a couple of posts on social media. The 21-year-old wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, urging people to "please don't believe everything you read."

The Athletic's Ben Pickman noted Reese also posted a video on her Instagram stories of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders saying: "Look at me. What about me would make you think that I care about your opinion of me? Your opinion of me is not the opinion that I have of myself. You ain't make me, so you can't break me. You didn't build me, so you can't kill me."

Reese transferred to LSU in May 2022 after spending the previous two years at Maryland. She was a unanimous All-American selection and won Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament for leading the Tigers to a 102-85 win over Iowa in the national title game.

After playing the Cayman Islands Classic, LSU's next game is at home against Virginia Tech on Nov. 30 in a Final Four rematch. The Tigers beat the Hokies 79-72 to reach the national championship game.