LSU Rode A Dominant Fourth Quarter To The First National Title Game In Program History

LSU’s women’s basketball team will play for its first national championship. Despite trailing Virginia Tech by as many as 12 points in the third quarter of Friday night’s Final Four tilt, the Tigers put together a dominant fourth quarter to pick up a 79-72 win and punch their ticket to the biggest game in program history on Sunday afternoon.

The Hokies looked like they were in cruise control early on in the third, as the team closed out the first half on an 11-0 run to take a 34-32 lead into the locker room. They continued to pour it on out of the break, and at the 5:40 mark of the third quarter, Cayla King knocked down a three to give the team a comfortable 51-39 lead.

Whenever LSU started to chip away at the lead, Virginia Tech seemed to have an answer. That was the case until the start of the fourth quarter, where the Tigers were nothing short of dominant. Alexis Morris and Angel Reese scored the first seven points of the frame before Georgia Amoore was able to temporarily stop the bleeding at the 7:53 mark.

And then, the Hokies stopped scoring. The team went on a nearly 6-minute long scoreless drought, all while they continued to get hammered on the other end of the floor. In all, LSU started the fourth quarter on a 22-3 run to go up by as many as 10 points.

While Virginia Tech was able to get to the free throw line down the stretch to keep the door cracked open, LSU was able to take care of business when they had the ball to slam it shut. A 27-point effort from Morris led the way for the Tigers, while Reese had 24 points and 12 rebounds. LaDazhia Williams also hit double-figures, going for 16 points and seven boards. Four members of the Hokies hit double-figures, with Elizabeth Kitley’s 18 points, 12 rebounds, and seven blocks leading the way.

The Tigers will now wait to see if they’ll take on South Carolina or Iowa with a national title on the line. While they have not faced off against Caitlin Clark and co. this year, LSU did play the defending national champions in Columbia this season, where the Tigers fell, 88-64.