LSU star Hailey Van Lith's puzzled look at Kim Mulkey as HC draws up play during Mississippi State matchup: WATCH

The LSU Tigers lost a second straight game on Monday night. A dejected coach Kim Mulkey looked on as the Mississippi State Bulldogs eked out a narrow 77-73 win at a sold-out Humphrey Coliseum.

A video of star guard Hailey Van Lith looking confused at Mulkey's instructions during a timeout went viral as the game slipped out of the No. 9 Tigers' hands after a streak of hot shooting by the Bulldogs in the second half.

Here's the video:

During her postgame news conference, Kim Mulkey seemed dejected at her team's collapse:

“This game was one that was not surprising. When you play a game on the road after a big game like we had with South Carolina, you watch your team and see how they reacted.

"We had the lead and did some things early, but in the second half we can’t seem to get stops defensively when they matter. You have to get stops at this level, and we don’t seem to be doing it,” she added.

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Kim Mulkey has a defensive problem

Against Dawn Staley's irrepressible South Carolina Gamecocks team, LSU dominated the first half and led going into the break, just as they did, going 40-35 at the Humphrey Coliseum against the Bulldogs.

LSU couldn't close out both games, though, in what has become a worrying trend, allowing the Bulldogs to shoot 65%. During her Mississippi State postgame news conference, Kim Mulkey lambasted the Tigers for their defensive lapses:

"We don't have the fleet-of-foot guards out there that can make up for things when they get beat off the dribble. So we got to do a better job of helping each other out."

The eccentric Mulkey also explained why she has given her players more latitude this season despite the mounting mistakes:

"I'm not one to make excuses. But sometimes I need to step back and go, 'that's a freshman out there, that's a sophomore out there, that's a new player out there.' I think everybody gets caught up into their rankings or get caught up in how great they are.

"At the end of the day, experience matters. When you don't have experience on the floor, you lack leadership. And if you lack leadership, you tend to lack a little bit of chemistry when things get tough," Kim Mulkey said.

The loss to Dawn Staley's team was not disastrous, but a second consecutive loss to a team of Mississippi State's caliber will set alarm bells ringing in Baton Rogue.