BATON ROUGE — One of the mantras of LSU women’s basketball this season has been “Welcome to the Show.”
There’s no denying the Tigers have propelled their show to the top of the national stage in women’s basketball. LSU brought shine, flair and exploding support wherever it played.
Not only did it bring its first national championship, a historic 102-85 win over Iowa on Sunday night, back from Dallas, LSU (34-2) brought home a new expectation — and quickly custom-made jerseys by Angel Reese and Alexis Morris and Flau’jae Johnson.
“You Can’t See Me” and “Luthor” graced the purple and gold jerseys as the team celebrated its national title with a parade through LSU’s campus and a ceremony at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, which hosted more than two on Wednesday Third full was night.
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During her inaugural press conference two years ago, LSU coach Kim Mulkey drew attention to the five Final Four women’s basketball banners hanging at the PMAC and noted that a national championship banner was missing.
The now four-time national champion coach remembered this day when the team was crowned.
“What I meant in April two years ago was that I had seen this program at its best,” Mulkey recalled Wednesday. “And his best had never won a championship.
“I was inspired to do that when I came here.”
Mulkey shared team goals during her speech, and the Tigers ticked them all off: Win 90% of nonconference games, finish in the top four of the Southeastern Conference, win a game in the SEC tournament, stay in the top 25 all season and have a heavy emphasis on defense and rebounds.
The story goes on
Led all season by Reese, Morris, Johnson and LaDazhia Williams, LSU won the title in a breathtaking time in Mulkey’s second season.
As pyrotechnics sparkled behind the team heaving the trophy onto the stage, and purple streamers and gates fell from the rafters, the show reached its finale.
Or as Mulkey put it, “Your national champions.”
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his coverage of Tigers and Cajuns on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Have questions about LSU/UL Athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at [email protected].
This article originally appeared in Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU Women’s Basketball Caps NCAA Championship with Campus Celebration
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