LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey is remaining tight-lipped on Angel Reese ... refusing to go into detail on the star player's current absence from the team.
The Bayou Barbie was MIA once again for the Tigers' 106-47 win over Texas Southern on Monday ... and during postgame availability with the media, Mulkey was not in the mood to explain why #10 wasn't on the court.
"Angel was not in uniform tonight. Angel is a part of this basketball team," Mulkey said. "And Angel will be back sooner than later. I'm not going to answer any more than that."
There has been a ton of speculation surrounding Reese's absence ... with fans noticing she was visibly upset during the Tigers' season-opening loss to Colorado.
The drama continued when Reese was sidelined for the second half of LSU's win over Kent State last week due to a "coach's decision" ... and she hasn't suited up since.
Of course, some folks believe it might be school related after Flau'jae Johnson's mom, Kia Brooks, claimed Reese had a "2.0 or less GPA" on social media last week ... but Mulkey made it clear she was not going to spill the beans on the current "locker room issues."
"Sometimes you want to know more than you're entitled to know. I'm going to protect my players. Always," Mulkey said ... comparing her athletes to family members.
Reese, who has not spoken to reporters on her status, finally broke her silence on X over the weekend ... saying, "Please don't believe everything you read."