Homegirl Mulkey brings home the national title, LSU destroys Iowa

LSU’s offense flowed as easily Mulkey’s tears as the final seconds ticked off in the Lady Tigers pounded Iowa for a 102-85 win to capture the school’s first-ever national championship Sunday afternoon in Dallas’ American Airlines Center.

Five LSU players scored in double figures as the Lady Tigers (34-2) set an NCAA championship game record for most points.

“We got in the transfer portal, we added nine new pieces. . .this is crazy,” said a stunned Mulkey afterwards. “Go party Louisiana!”

Graduate guard Jasmine Carson came off the bench and scored 16 of LSU’s 32 second-quarter points for a 59-42 halftime lead. Starting point guard Alexis Morris polished off the Hawkeyes with 15 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore forward Angel Reese was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player after recording who her NCAA single-season record 34th double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

"I don't care to be All-American," Reese said. "I don't care to be Defensive Player of the Year, Player of the Year. The biggest goal is to be a national champion, and that's what I did. All I wanted to be was a national champion. People don't forget national champions."

Graduate forward LaDazhia Williams scored 20 points and freshman forward Flau’jae Johnson had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark had her fourth straight 30-point game. The junior guard scored 30 points, including a championship game record 8 3-pointers.

"Give a lot of credit to LSU," Clark said. "They played an outstanding, outstanding game. They made some tough threes, some tough jumpers off of ball screens, and sometimes you have to live with some of that."

For Mulkey, the Louisiana.native hired in April 2021 after 21 seasons at Baylor where she won three national championships, it may have been her sweetest championship.

"With about 1:30 to go, I couldn't hold it. I got very emotional," Mulkey said. "I don't know if it's the mere fact that we're doing this in my second year back home. I don't know if it was the fact that I am home. I don't know if it was looking across there at my daughter and my grandchildren. I don't know if it was looking across at LSU. I don't know what it was, but I lost it."

The first half started, as expected, with Clark doing her best Steph Curry imitation. Whether she was pulling up from 30 feet or weaving around screens, she hit her first 4 of 5 3-pointers.

The first half ended, as no one could have predicted, with Carson banking in her fifth straight 3-pointer as the halftime horn sounded for a stunning 17-point lead at the break.

"It was a surreal moment," said Carson, who hadn't scored in LSU's last three tournament games yet finished with a team-high 22 points. "Every player dreams of being on a big stage like this and having the game of your life, and for it to come to fruition, it meant a lot."

The Lady Tigers led 27-22 at the end of the first quarter, despite the fact Clark scored 14 points. LSU countered with six different players scoring, thanks to good ball movement and unselfish play.

The officiating crew of Lisa Jones, Pualani Spurlock-Welsh, Michol Murray took over the spotlight in the second quarter when LSU and Iowa had to sit three starters each in foul trouble.

The difference was LSU’s bench players exploded offensively. In the final 6:36 of the second quarter with Reese and Morris on the bench, the Lady Tigers outscored the Hawkeyes 23-10 hitting 9 of their last 13 shots including 5 of 5 3’s.

But Iowa was far from dead. It opened the third quarter on a 15-2 run including three 3-pointers to cut LSU’s lead to 65-57 with 5:23 left in the period.

As the quarter commenced, inside play turned into an elbow-throwing war. LSU was leading 73-64 when the Lady Tigers got the biggest break of the game.

Reese forced Iowa center Monika Czinano into a fourth foul with 1:04 left. After the foul was called Clark was given a controversial technical foul (which counted as her fourth personal foul) for a delay of game for flipping the ball behind her out of bounds during the dead ball.

"We got it (LSU's lead) to seven points in the third quarter," Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. "Man, I felt good right then. I really did. I felt like, okay, we got this.

"Then of course we have the foul, the technical foul, that stuff, and it just gets out of hand at that point."

LSU entered the final quarter with a hint of momentum and a 75-64 lead. Bluder rolled the dice by leaving Clark in the game despite the foul trouble.

Morris, who has been LSU's fourth-quarter closer throughout the NCAA tourney, hit two mid-range jumpers and assisted on a Williams’ layup to open the period. Then, she closed it by scoring 11 of the Lady Tigers' last 14 points, banking in a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left to cap LSU's magical season.

"I'll be honest when my mid-ranges start falling," Morris said, "I was like `Oh, yeah.this is my time. I'm not going to let it slip out of my hands. We're too close.' I just smelled, I just tasted it at the time."