Angel Reese is happy to finally be back with the LSU Tigers, and now she's explaining the 4-game hiatus ... saying the absence was for her mental health, so she could reset and refocus within the team.
The 6-foot-3 forward rejoined the Tigers on Thursday for their home game against Virginia Tech ... and Reese scored 19 points in the 82-64 win.
Fans were thrilled to see their Bayou Barbie back in action ... as she had been away from the team since her benching on the Nov. 14 game. Head coach Kim Mulkey was mum on the reason why.
But, now Reese is providing an explanation, speaking to the media postgame, admitting it was a long two weeks away, but it was something that needed to be done.
"Taking time to yourself is really important," Reese said, "I feel like it's just something important, resetting, refocusing within the team. I'm just happy to be back."
"My mental health is the most important before anything and I'm gonna make sure I'm okay before anything because I don't wanna cause any harm or cancer in the locker room."
Reese added, "I want to people realize that I'm not just an athlete. I'm a human, too. I go through things."
The 21-year-old said she got a lot of support from her true friends ... including Shaq, who reached out every day during her absence.
"We FaceTime every day, he checked on me, called me every single day to make sure I was good.," Reese said.
The 2023 NCAA champ also had a message for everybody who trashed her, speculating her time away had to do with bad grades or a bad attitude.
"Whatever stories that were wrote or written, don't believe everything you read," Reese said. "I'm back and I'm happy. I'm here and I'm moving forward. I'm going to take this team and help take this team as far as I can."
Outside of Reese's return and LSU's win, Mulkey also got her 700th victory, making her the fastest coach to reach the mark in men's and women's basketball.
Congrats coach and welcome back, Angel!