Lady Tigers reach Final Four for first time since 2008

Kim Mulkey stood in the midst of postgame confetti storm, accepted hugs and soaked in the scene around her.

After winning three national championships in four Final Four trips as Baylor's head coach, Mulkey had just booked a fifth Final Four date in her second season as LSU's head coach with a 54-42 Lady Tigers' victory over Miami in the NCAA Greenville Regional II championship game Sunday night.

“What really makes me smile is not cutting that net down, it's looking around out there at all those LSU people, looking at that team I get to coach and experience it for the first time,” Mulkey said. “That's what it means to me is to do things that you're not supposed to do as quickly as you're supposed to do them.

"It will hit me tonight when we're on that plane going back to Baton Rouge, and I'm sitting with my feet propped up tomorrow eating crawfish."

In a game in which No. 3 seed LSU and No. 9 seed Miami combined to miss 83 field goal attempts including 26 3-pointers, LSU’s defensive sweat equity advanced the Lady Tigers to their first Final Four appearance since 2008.

The fact that 33 of LSU’s points came off a combined 15 second-chance points and 18 points off 18 Miami turnovers spoke volumes of how the Lady Tigers generated scoring on a night they shot 19 of 63 from the field (30.2) including 1 of 12 3-pointers.

LSU senior guard Alexis Morris, a Beaumont, Texas native who was named the Regional Most Outstanding Player, scored a team-high 21 points.

It assured she’ll finish her college career in her native state at the Final Four in Dallas where the 32-2 Lady Tigers will play Friday vs. the winner of Monday’s Seattle Regional 3 finals between No. 1 seed Virginia Tech and No. 3 seed Ohio State.

"I said it and just spoke it into existence," Morris said. ":God did. Texas, I'm coming home, baby."

Also named to Greenville II all-regional team was LSU forward Angel Reese, who set an SEC single season record vs. Miami with her 32nd double-double of 13 points (despite 3 of 15 field goal shooting) and 18 rebounds.

Miami (22-13) was led by Jasmyn Roberts’ game-high 22 points. None of the other Hurricanes scored more than 4 points each as Miami made just 18 of 57 field goals (31.6 percent) including 0 for 15 3-points. Miami also committed 20 turnovers.

"If you sit here and tell me that LSU is going to shoot 30 percent, 8 percent from the three and 50 percent from the free-throw line, I'm thinking I'm cutting down a net right now," Miami head coach Katie Meier said. "But how gritty they (LSU) are.

"We got them to play not as well as they can, and they still beat us. I've got to tip my hat to them."

The first quarter score – LSU 10, Miami 8 – was reflective of the combined offensive futility of both teams.

The Lady Tigers missed 11 of 14 shots with Reese going 0 for 6 from the field. LSU’s three made field goals came off Morris layups.

Considering Miami had more turnovers (7) than made field goals (4) and LSU attempted 8 free throws to Miami’s zero, the fact LSU led by just two was alarming for the Lady Tigers.

LSU’s cold shooting continued into the second quarter but the Lady Tigers finally managed to hit back-to-back shots on a Flau’jae Johnson steal and layup and a Morris 13-foot pull up jumper as part of a 6-0 run for a 16-12 lead with 5:39 left.

Miami’s extremely defensive gameplan on Reese – she was banged repeatedly by the Hurricanes’ Lola Pendande – led to Reese missing all of nine of her first-half field goal attempts including five layups.

Reese, who had 7 points (all free throws) and 8 rebounds, in the opening half, found other ways to contribute.

In LSU’s 8-2 run in the final 3:20 before halftime, that boosted the Lady Tigers to a 26-20 lead at the break she had steals on consecutive Miami possessions that led to back-to-back baskets by reserve freshman forward Sa’myah Smith and threw a nifty bounce pass through traffic to Morris for a nifty layup.

While Reese didn't score her first field goal of the game and her low-post mate LaDazhia Williams eventually finished with just 4 points after scoring a career-high 24 points in Friday's Sweet 16 win over Utah, another unlikely in-the-paint presence stepped up for LSU.

Freshman Sa'Myah Smith scored 6 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and blocked 2 shots in 19 minutes off the bench.

"Sa'Myah is in a really good place right now," Reese said. "We need Sa'Myah. She knows that we need her."