Louisiana
New sickle cell treatment could cure thousands in Louisiana
LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – Kelsi Victorian, 30, has been in and out of the hospital her whole life dealing with a disease that affects millions in the world.
“I was diagnosed at maybe around the age of two or three years old because I continued to get sick. The disease was present from the time I was born, and it’s been an uphill battle, but it’s definitely something that has made me stronger,” said Victorian.
She was tested at birth because no one in her immediate family had the disease.
But since she was around two years old, she has had to travel either out of state or to larger cities to seek help.
Most of her schooling was even done in a hospital bed.
The disease has not only taken effects on her physical abilities but her mental, as well.
“Sickle cell has taken things away from me, but it’s also maybe to realize that I have to be stronger than the average person. I like to think of it as my luggage. It’s something that I must carry with me, but it’s up to myself as to how heavy I pack it,” said Victorian.
In New York, a 21-year-old man has been cured of sickle cell anemia.
In a groundbreaking treatment, doctors used his own bone marrow in IV transfusions to create normal red blood cells – making him the first person to be cured of this devastating disease using this treatment.
Victorian says this gives her hope, that one day millions can be cured of this debilitating weight they carry.
“So being able to see that they have used his own bone marrow is a tremendous innovation. It’s something that gives so many people a great outlook on what can be done to affect the lives of those who suffer with sickle cell,” said Victorian.
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LSU women’s basketball started slow but recovered Saturday against Louisiana Tech, head coach Kim Mulkey’s alma mater. Inside New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center, the No. 5 Tigers won 87-61 to improve to 11-0.
Mikaylah Williams led the team with 19 points while Flau’Jae Johnson notched her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Kate Koval and MiLaysia Fulwiley finished with 19 and 10 points, respectively. Jada Richard dished out a game-high eight assists.
Grace Knox, in the first start of her college career, scored four points as part of a 6-0 opening run for LSU, but three three-pointers put Louisiana Tech up with 7:19 on the clock. Back-and-forth play ensued, but the Lady Techsters led by two at the end of the first quarter. They hung around on the glass as well, limiting the Tigers to one and done most times.
LSU woke up in the second quarter and began imposing its physicality. Louisiana Tech didn’t score until the 5:34 mark and racked up fouls, including two on sharp-shooter Paris Bradley. The Tigers were in the bonus for over half of the second quarter but experienced a near-three-minute scoring drought, letting the Lady Techsters hang around. LSU led by nine points heading into the locker room. Both teams shot under 40% in the opening 20 minutes.
Louisiana Tech kept the game within reach for much of the third quarter but it eventually got away. LSU ended the frame on a 9-0 run and built a 20-point lead for good a minute into the fourth. Turnovers and mental mistakes piled up for the Lady Techsters, which gave the Tigers more chances to push the pace of play. The Tigers went on a 14-2 run over four minutes when substitutes started rolling in. They shot 58.6% in the second half.
LSU lacked success in transition
LSU relies on getting into track meets with opponents quickly to build a comfortable cushion. That didn’t happen Saturday as Louisiana Tech hit its shots to open the game. Even when the Lady Techsters missed, they were comfortable going one-and-done most times as they prioritized getting numbers back to defend. That’s how they kept the score close in the early goings.
In the first half, LSU scored just six points in transition and 11 points off turnovers. The Tigers stepped up on the defensive end in the second half. Even though they didn’t produce the fast break opportunities they’re used to, they were more patient on the offensive end and knocked down their open shots.
Koval, Joyner didn’t get enough touches
As in most of its nonconference games, LSU possesses a substantial size advantage inside. That was the case Saturday but the purple and gold struggled to get the ball inside to Koval and Joyner. When the pair had touches, they often either finished, kicked out for an open shot, or drew a foul. They combined for 21 points on 21 shots from the field and 10 free-throw attempts. LSU scored just 36 points in the paint over the entire game.
Likely driven by Mulkey’s comments at the break. LSU made a concerted effort to pounce on the ball inside. Koval scored over half of her points in the final two quarters. She easily worked with passes over the top of Louisiana Tech’s Averi Aaron and in the high-low when the Lady Techsters went to a zone. The Tigers need to learn from their lack of post play and use their advantage inside, especially as they prepare to play in the SEC.
Williams led LSU throughout the game
LSU struggled to find rhythm on both ends of the court in the early goings but Williams put the team on her back in the middle two frames. She scored 13 points, including two triples, on four of seven shots from the field. She added five rebounds and three assists over the same span.
Williams played a team-high 32 minutes on Saturday and she played all but two minutes in the first half. The junior displayed much-needed poise to an LSU team that couldn’t settle into the way it wanted to play initially. She also locked in on the defensive end, switching onto Bradley and locking her down for the back half of the contest. Her play in all facets gave the Tigers the confidence that they needed to pull ahead in the second half.
Kramer Robertson, son of Kim Mulkey, New Orleans Pelicans and Saints owner Gayle Benson and Mayor-Elect Helena Moreno sit on the sidelines during the first half of a Compete 4 Cause Classic basketball game between the Louisiana State Tigers and the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)
The opportunity to play a road game against Louisiana Tech has presented itself to coach Kim Mulkey before, but she has always turned it down.
Mulkey is willing to put the Lady Techsters on one of her nonconference schedules. She has already done so during her time at Baylor, and she did again ahead of this Tigers season. However, the LSU women’s basketball coach will never stage a game in Ruston — the small town in North Louisiana where she played her college hoops and launched her Hall-of-Fame coaching career.
“There’s too many emotions there,” Mulkey said. “There’s too many. I couldn’t walk in that gym and be a good coach.”
So, a neutral site will have to suffice instead. At 5 p.m. Saturday (ESPNU), the Smoothie King Center will host only the second matchup between one of Mulkey’s teams and her alma mater, Louisiana Tech. The No. 5 Tigers (10-0) and the Lady Techsters are set to meet in the Compete 4 Cause Classic — a doubleheader that also features a 7:30 p.m. men’s game between LSU and SMU.
Mulkey is a Louisiana Tech legend. She played point guard for the Lady Techsters from 1980-84, then worked as an assistant coach for the next 16 seasons. Tech reached the Final Four 11 times in the 19 total seasons Mulkey spent there and took home three national titles (in 1981, 1982 and 1988).
In December 2009, Mulkey’s Baylor team defeated the Lady Techsters 77-67 in Waco, Texas.
Mulkey hasn’t faced her alma mater since, not even after she left the Bears in 2021, so she could revive LSU’s women’s basketball program. The Tigers faced almost every other Louisiana school — from Grambling and UL-Monroe to McNeese and Tulane — in her first four seasons, but not the storied program that plays its home games about 200 miles north of Baton Rouge.
“The history of women’s basketball in this state doesn’t belong to LSU,” Mulkey said. “It belongs to Louisiana Tech. (The) Seimone Augustus era was outstanding. Our little five-year era here is outstanding, but when you take the cumulative history of women’s basketball in this state, go look at what Louisiana Tech was able to accomplish.”
The Lady Techsters were a national power under legendary coaches Sonja Hogg and Leon Barmore. Hogg guided them to a pair of national championships and more than 300 wins across nine seasons, then turned the program over to Barmore, who led them to another national title and 11 30-win campaigns. Hogg and Barmore were co-head coaches from 1982-85.
Mulkey almost took over for Barmore in 2000. She had turned down head coaching offers before to stay in Ruston, but when it came time to choose between her alma mater and Baylor, she decided on coaching the Bears. Louisiana Tech, at the time, wouldn’t offer her the five-year deal — and the extra job security — she wanted.
Their paths then diverged. Mulkey won three national titles at Baylor and one at LSU, while Louisiana Tech hasn’t made it back to the Final Four. The Lady Techsters haven’t even advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament since 2004, and they’ve cracked that field of teams only twice in the last 20 seasons.
Mulkey, on the other hand, has spent those two decades chasing championships. The fifth of her head coaching career could come as soon as this season — a year that includes a rare matchup with the program that shaped her.
“I’ve been here five years now,” Mulkey said, “but your memories last forever, and the memories I have of my 19 years at Louisiana Tech will never dissolve.”
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