LSU secures their inaugural Women's Basketball National Title in a remarkable manner, achieving a score of 102-85 that sets a new record

In Dallas, the LSU Women's Basketball team clinched the NCAA National Championship title with a score of 102-85 against Iowa, turning a group of assorted puzzle pieces into a remarkable masterpiece. In only her second season in Baton Rouge, Head Coach Kim Mulkey assembled nine transfers and freshmen to lead LSU to its first Final Four victory in six attempts, and two days later, the program's first-ever NCAA Basketball Championship, marking the 50th team national title in LSU Athletics' history.

With this win, Mulkey became the first women's basketball coach to achieve NCAA championships at multiple schools, adding to her previous victories at Baylor in 2005, 2012, and 2019. Fans can purchase championship merchandise at LSUshop.net, the Official Online Store of LSU Athletics.

The Tigers will return home to Baton Rouge on Monday via a charter flight, with a welcome home gathering scheduled for approximately noon CT at the Maravich Center. Further details on a national championship celebration on the LSU campus will be announced soon.

During the Women's Final Four game, LSU (34-2) set a record for the most points scored and shooting 54.3 percent (38 of 70) from the field, including 11-of-17 from three-point range, resulting in a combined 187 points, the highest in a Final Four game. Meanwhile, Iowa (31-7) made 50 percent of its field goals (28 of 56). The game drew an audience of 19,842 at the American Airlines Center.

LSU graduate transfer Jasmine Carson's unconscious shooting in the second quarter spurred the Tigers' offense, as she made her first seven shots from the field and scored 22 points. This helped LSU shoot over 50 percent from the field for most of the game, leading to their sixth 100-point performance of the 2022-23 season. Sophomore forward Angel Reese, a key player for LSU, went to the bench with two fouls in the first quarter, but Carson and junior-college transfer guard Last-Tea Poa stepped up and extended the Tigers' lead to 17 by halftime.

Image source: lsusports.net

Graduate transfer LaDazhia Williams scored 20 points, making shots in every quarter of the game, while Alexis Morris and Reese also contributed to the high-scoring affair. Iowa's Caitlin Clark, the 2023 Naismith National Player of the Year, led the Hawkeyes with 30 points, becoming the NCAA Tournament's single-tournament leading scorer with 191 points.

In the game's opening minutes, Iowa forced LSU coach Mulkey to take a timeout after turning three LSU turnovers into a 7-3 lead. However, LSU quickly responded with an 11-3 run to take the lead, with Carson hitting a three-pointer to end the first quarter with a 27-22 lead. Carson's hot shooting continued into the second quarter, where she made seven-straight shots, including five three-pointers, to tally 21 points off the bench in just 12 minutes. Her final three-pointer was banked in at the halftime buzzer, giving LSU a 59-52 lead, an NCAA Women's Final Four record for points in a half.

Although Iowa made a 15-2 run in the third quarter, LSU held on to a comfortable lead as Clark and Monica Czinano each picked up their fourth foul. LSU's Morris sealed the win with 15 points in the fourth quarter, as the Tigers maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.