LSU Crowned Champions

The greatest team to play in the PMAC

The LSU Tigers are national champions in women’s basketball.

This is the 50^th national championship in LSU history, but it is the first by women’s basketball.

If it feels special that is because it is.

LSU entered this season as the program that had been to the most Final Fours without even a national title game appearance. It looked like that might be the case again, but LSU went on a 29-13 run in the fourth to beat Virginia Tech and make it to the championship.

The Tigers preceded to call Iowa’s defense disrespectful and scored 102 on it. That was an NCAA championship game record.The Tigers started this season scoring over 100 points in four consecutive games and they ended with over 100 points in the biggest game of the year. This was one of the greatest offenses to ever play at LSU in anything.

Some people missed it, but all season LSU looked like a championship contender.

The Tigers were in the top 10 in HerHoopsStats ratings on offense and defense, just like the last five national champions.

This obviously wasn’t the first LSU team to be at this level. LSU has players like Shaquille O’Neal, Pete Maravich, Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, and loads of other Hall of Famers. This year Angel Reese and Alexis Morris added their names to the all-time greats at LSU.

Reese put her 34^th double double of the season, an NCAA record. She is one of the best players to ever play at LSU and she will be back next season.

Morris completed one of the greatest comeback stories ever. She was kicked off Mulkey’s team at Baylor. The day Mulkey took over the LSU program, Morris came to LSU for a second chance after struggling since leaving Baylor. She is leaving a national champion.

But they could not have done it alone.Flau’jae Johnson shined brightly as her music played before and after the game as the freshman scored 10 points. LaDazhia Williams scored 20 points playing her best basketball in her final games. Jasmine Carson stole the show scoring 21 points in the first half on 100 percent shooting. Carson had started all but one of LSU’s regular season games before starting just one of LSU’s tournament games. She could have given up, instead in the biggest moment of the season she gave LSU the biggest game of her career.

That is legendary. This team is legendary.

LSU won a national championship not because of one player, but because of an all-out team effort. Players like Kateri Poole, Last-Tear Poa, and Sa’Myah Smith, role players for most of the season, stepped up, especially on the defensive end. This team won together.

This was not a one game show though. The Tigers have set program records all year. They went undefeated at home selling out the PMAC and getting the largest crowd in the history of the venue. They won their first 23 games and finished 34-2. Reese was top five in points and rebounds in the country putting up video game numbers on opponents.

The Tigers will be a contender again next year. They add a vaunted class, ranked No. 1 by ESPN, and are almost certainly going to hit the portal.

There will never be another team like this at LSU. There will be other champions. There might even be better teams. But this was the first.