GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands -- Angel Reese and Kateri Poole did not take the court Friday for LSU's game against Niagara at the Cayman Islands Classic.

The Tigers also lost Sa'Myah Smith during Friday's game when the forward went down with an apparent right knee injury in the first quarter.

Reese hasn't played for the No. 7 Tigers (5-1) since she was benched at halftime of their fourth game of the season on Nov. 14. At the time, coach Kim Mulkey said it was a "coach's decision." Reese was not on the bench for LSU's wins over Southeast Louisiana and Texas Southern over the past week.

A team spokesperson declined to comment on the players' whereabouts Friday. The Tigers defeated the Purple Eagles 99-65.

Neither Reese nor Poole is believed to have accompanied the team to the Cayman Islands. The Tigers arrived Wednesday, and players have been seen at the beach.

Smith was going for a layup with 5:17 to play in the first quarter when she was fouled and fell to the floor. She was helped off the court by two LSU staff members and later returned to the bench, first with ice and then a brace on her right knee.

Mulkey had said Nov. 17 that Reese was still part of the team and that "we hope to see her sooner than later." The Tigers coach did not elaborate on why Reese was not playing during a postgame news conference Monday.

"You always have to deal with locker room issues," Mulkey said. "Sometimes you don't know about it. Sometimes you want to know more than you're entitled to know. I'm going to protect my players, always. They are more important."

Following the Tigers' opening loss to then-No. 20 Colorado, Mulkey shared her disappointment in some of the players -- "I thought would be tougher, have a little fight and leadership about them," she said -- though she did not name any specifically.

Reese transferred to LSU from Maryland before the 2022-23 season. She helped lead the Tigers to the program's first national championship and was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament.

She is averaging 17.0 points and 10.3 rebounds in four games this season. In 2022-23, she averaged 23.0 points and 15.4 rebounds per game.

Poole has appeared in four games this season for LSU, averaging 12.8 minutes per game. She played just five minutes against Southeast Louisiana and sat out against Texas Southern. Last season, Poole appeared in 35 of 36 games for the Tigers, starting six of them and averaging 4.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 22.3 minutes per game.

The Tigers added multiple high-profile transfers in the offseason in Aneesah Morrow and Hailey Van Lith as well as the top-ranked recruiting class.

LSU is scheduled to play Virginia on Saturday before returning home and hosting No. 9 Virginia Tech on Thursday.