BATON ROUGE – Kim Mulkey said she could see it coming.

Angel Reese had just stuffed Jessica Timmons' driving layup attempt, and the ball perfectly bounced to Last-Tear Poa, who immediately sprinted into the break. As she cut across the court, she took a quick peek toward a streaking Flau'jae Johnson.

At the free throw line, Poa sized up Alabama's Aaliyah Nye, retreating in an attempt at defense, but that attempt was futile as Poa whipped the ball behind her back to Johnson for the easy layup. The bucket put LSU women's basketball up 59-50 late in the third quarter and it went on to pull away, 85-66, for its third straight Southeastern Conference win.

The highlight-reel play jolted the crowd to its feet inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and conjured a pair of fist pumps from Mulkey.

And according to Reese, it may have earned the guard a nice dinner.

"You always need a player like Poa," Reese said after the game. "I'm glad it's coming to her offensively now. Defense leads to offense, so I was glad I was able to get that block – but that behind-the-back, I'm gonna have to take Poa out to the dinner tonight for that."

It's what everyone in purple and gold have been itching to see, Poa playing more minutes and growing up before their collective eyes for LSU (21-4, 8-3).

Since the Tigers' last idle week, Mulkey has leaned more on Poa, a junior. In the three games, the Australian native has 25 points, nine assists and taken three charges. Her 11 points against Alabama were a season high, along with the 30 minutes she logged Sunday.

"She does what she needs to do to help her team on the defensive end," Mulkey said. "She's just not afraid.

"I want her to be louder. I want her to run the show when she's out there. But she's not going to do that, she's quiet. Those skills are there. I kind of saw that behind-the-back pass coming, she's been waiting to do that. Games like today will help us get better."

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Before the Florida matchup, Mulkey told reporters she wouldn't hesitate to play Poa more and shift Hailey Van Lith, Johnson and Mikaylah Williams around to create more rotations on the perimeter.

It seems, however, that Poa is here to stay for LSU. What she's brought to the floor for the Tigers the past few games has been actually what the team had been missing through the first 18 games.

"I love that from Poa. She plays a special kind of game," Reese said. "She doesn't look to score a lot, which I get on her a lot. She leaves a lot of shots on the floor that she can take. She's super unselfish.

"Her game starts on the defensive end. She takes charges, she goes and defends their best player, she gets the chippy calls and does the right things at the right time."

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Angel Reese wants to buy LSU women's basketball's Last-Tear Poa dinner