BATON ROUGE – The scoreboard was never going to matter in LSU women's basketball's first exhibition of the 2026-27 season against North Texas-Dallas Thursday, Oct. 22.
Kim Mulkey's Tigers did dispatch of the Trailblazer rather efficiently and quickly, 159-31, inside the Pete Maravich Assembly. But seeing her new team on the court against a team wearing a different color was key for the legendary coach and her staff.
No. 8 LSU only dressed nine players as forwards Noa Morro and Anna Minaeva are dealing with injuries, so Mulkey and company weren't able to work through as many combinations as they'd like.
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But the Tigers were able to get reps in a live game.
Here are three thoughts coming out of LSU's exhibition against UNT-Dallas.
No Anna Minaeva
We got a look at just how thin LSU is down low with the 17-year-old Russian freshman post sitting out LSU's first exhibition game. It's unclear if Minaeva will be available for LSU's second and last exhibition next week against Loyola-New Orleans, but as of this point, there's no on-floor evaluation of the big center. That's the biggest question mark about this team heading into the season opener against Southeastern Louisiana Monday, Nov. 2.
After the game, Mulkey said Minaeva was dealing with a quad injury and that they hope to "get her going" in practice Monday.
Behind starters ZaKiyah Johnson and Grace Knox, the second rotation featured freshman Lola Lampley playing inside. Her activity and length were positives. Lampley moved well on both ends of the floor. But there were still some moments of freshman play.
Meghan Yarnevich was the third player off the bench for the Tigers.
MiLaysia Fulwiley's ball/point control
Senior MiLayia Fulwiley didn't run much true point guard in the first exhibition game. It's likely she won't be tasked with running it a whole lot with Jada Williams and Chloe Larry taking up that mantle, but how much more controlled she looked with the ball in her hands displayed growth in the operating part of her game.
Fulwiley did not commit a turnover, something far different than when she ran the break and offense in her first season in Baton Rouge last year.
"I'm trying to go out there every day in practice getting better at the things I need to and (taking care of the basketball is definitely one of them," Fulwiley said. "I'm excited to see how I compete against better competition but today was I was very satisfied with not turning over the ball."
Laila Reynolds going to be integral piece for Kim Mulkey's team
The Florida transfer is going to fill a hybrid wing/forward position for this year's LSU team. With her experience in SEC play, that matters as she'll wear a few different hats for the Tigers this season. And they need it as depth thins as players move to varying spots on the floor and in the rotation.
Against the Trailblazers Thursday night, Reynolds came in to play wing and the next substitution played on the low block and it looked to be seamless transition for her. This team, and it's lack of post depth, will need Reynolds to log some minutes in the paint.
While she's only listed at 6-foot, Reynolds physically looks capable of handling playing inside. Her final stat line was 20 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Early impressions of LSU women's basketball after UNT-Dallas win