Women’s national championship game live updates: LSU dominates Iowa for first-ever title
LSU has won its first NCAA women’s basketball title, overpowering Iowa with a 102-85 victory on Sunday, scoring the most points ever in a women’s title game.
The Tigers used a balanced offensive attack and deadly accurate outside shooting to build a 17-point halftime lead, then held off a valiant comeback effort from the Hawkeyes to claim the title.
Jasmine Carson led LSU with 22 points, 21 of them in the first half, while Alexis Morris scored 16, all in the second half.
Just two years after taking over a downtrodden 9-13 LSU program, coach Kim Mulkey led the Tigers to a 34-2 record and won her fourth national title. She previously led Baylor to championships in 2005, 2012 and 2019.
National player of the year Caitlin Clark paced Iowa with 30.
Follow the madness: Latest Women’s NCAA Tournament College Basketball Scores and Schedules
Follow along for live updates throughout the women’s national title game:
Final: LSU 102, Iowa 85
DALLAS — Jasmine Carson scored 22 points off the bench — in just 22 minutes — and third-seeded LSU rolled to a 102-85 win over tournament darling Cinderella Caitlin Clark and Iowato claim the 2023 national championship.
It was an astonishing performance for Carson, on her third school after stops at Georgia Tech and West Virginia. The Tigers, who are in just year two of the Kim Mulkey era, were pretty good, too. LSU won the rebounding battles 36-26, turning 14 offensive boards in 14 second chance points. They also hit 10 3s (their season high is 11) and shot 54% from the field, leading for more than 34 minutes.
With the win, Mulkey becomes the first coach in the women’s game to lead two schools to national championships (she won three at Baylor).
— Lindsay Schnell
Third quarter: LSU 75, Iowa 64
Iowa isn’t going away quietly in this NCAA championship game.
After LSU extended a 17-point halftime lead to 21, the Hawkeyes came roarding back in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 11 points entering the final quarter of play.
Caitlin Clark took matters into her own hands, scoring nine points — all on threes to spark Iowa’s charge. She leads all scorers in the game with 25.
However, Iowa center Monika Czinano picked up her fourth foul of the game with 1:03 left in the quarter. At the same time, Clark was also whistled for a technical foul, which was her fourth of the game.
Halftime: LSU 59, Iowa 42
Showing incredible accuracy from long range, LSU has opened up a 17-point halftime lead over Iowa, putting the Tigers 20 minutes away from their first national championship.
Senior Jasmine Carson has hit all seven of her shots from the field, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer off the glass at the end of the half, on her way to a game-high 21 points.
For the game, LSU is an incredible 9-for-12 from 3-point territory.
Caitlin Clark has 14 for Iowa, all of them in the first quarter. However, she finished the half on the bench after picking up her third foul as LSU extended its lead.
Iowa has turned the ball over 11 times in the first half.
Caitlin Clark sets women’s tourney scoring record
On a 3-point field goal with 7:56 to play in the third quarter, Iowa star Caitlin Clark broke Sheryl Swoopes’ record for most points in a single NCAA women’s tournament.
The long-range bomb gave Clark a total of 178 points and also gave her a record 24th 3-pointer in six tournament games.
Clark entered Sunday’s championship with back-to-back games of 40 or more points in her previous two outings.
First quarter: LSU 27, Iowa 22
A fast-paced and tightly called first 10 minutes are in the books in the NCAA women’s title game with LSU holding a 27-22 lead over Iowa.
Each school’s first-team All-American has led the way in the early going.
After topping 40 points in each of her last two tournament games, national player of the year Caitlin Clark has four 3-pointers and 14 points for the Hawkeyes. However, Iowa center Monika Czinano has picked up a couple of quick fouls.
Angel Reese leads the Tigers with seven points, but she and guard Kateri Poole have also picked up two early fouls.
Hawkeyes, Tigers underway for women’s crown
The hype is over. Now it’s time for the players to decide who will reign supreme.
National player of the year Caitlin Clark has led the way for Iowa throughout the entire NCAA Tournament, averaging 32.2 points per game in the Hawkeyes’ five wins.
Meanwhile, Angel Reese has been dominant for LSU, averaging 22.7 points per game and controlling things inside.
Whose team will be crowned national champions? We’ll find out in the next 40 minutes (or more).
First Lady Jill Biden on hand for women’s title game
No need for the national champions to go to the White House. The White House came to them.
First Lady Jill Biden was at the NCAA women’s title game between LSU and Iowa on Sunday. She and President Joe Biden are longtime women’s basketball fans, and the president attended several NCAA tournament games when Elena Delle Donne played for Delaware.
The Bidens also went to the men’s Final Four in 2016 when he was vice president.
The First Lady was spotted in a box opposite the team benches, sitting with tennis legend Billie Jean King and her wife, Ilana Kloss.
— Nancy Armour
What time does women’s national championship game start?
The women’s NCAA Tournament final is slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC. Streaming is available via WatchESPN and ESPN+.
LSU coach Kim Mulkey chooses tiger print for title game attire
DALLAS – There was no denying that Kim Mulkey was going to pull out all the stops when it came to what she was going to wear for the national championship game.
LSU women’s basketball coach did not let down all those chomping at the bit to see what she would wear next.
Here’s a quick look at some of the odds for Sunday’s national championship game. All odds are according to Tipico.
Who’s favored?
But as Bluder herself admits, it took time to cede control.
— Lindsay Schnell
Tigers guard Alexis Morris doesn’t think Clark can dare LSU to shoot from behind the arc the way she did against the Gamecocks.
“I don’t think they can guard us that way,” Morris said, according to Sports Illustrated. “I don’t think you can just leave me open on the perimeter or leave us open on the perimeter. Me personally, I find it very disrespectful, so I’m going to take that personally going into that game. You’re going to have to guard us. That’s just the competitor in me, and the will to win.”
— Blake Schuster, For The Win
That means they have to capitalize on the moment.
It’s noteworthy, to say the least, this year Iowa beat heavily favored, undefeated and overall No. 1 seed South Carolina. The Hawkeyes slayed the giant — but now they’ve got to take the castle, and the championship trophy.
— Lindsay Schnell
the coach who five years ago kicked the standout guard off another team.Turns out, it was even better.
Clark met the moment and then some with a performance for the ages Friday night. Instead of shrinking under the pressure, she shined, draining 3-pointers, breaking ankles and firing pinpoint passes South Carolina could only watch whiz by. She finished with 41 points and eight assists in Iowa’s 77-73 victory that snapped the defending champion’s 42-game winning streak and sent the Hawkeyes to their first national title game.
“I think she’s the most phenomenal basketball player in America. I just don’t think there’s anyone like her,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “She had the ball in her hands almost all the time tonight against some pretty good defensive players.”
— Nancy Armour
Women’s Final Four does big ratings for ESPN
With South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark facing off in the women’s Final Four on Friday night, ratings were expected to be high.
They were record-setting for ESPN, the network announced Saturday.
ESPN, which broadcast both NCAA Tournament semifinal games, said the LSU-Virginia Tech early game averaged 3.4 million viewers with a peak of 5 million across network platforms. That was up 57% from last year’s early game.
Iowa-South Carolina averaged 5.5 million with a peak of 6.6 million, up 72% from last year’s late game.
Both games drew record audiences for a college basketball game – men’s or women’s – on ESPN+, the network said.
— Mike Brehm
South Carolina star Aliyah Boston declares for WNBA Draft
South Carolina star Aliyah Boston is declaring for the WNBA draft. She is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick.
“In this moment, I am truly breathless as I make the next best decision of my life,” Boston said in a statement. “I have decided to further pursue my dream by declaring for the 2023 WNBA Draft.”
— Jaylon Thompson
Dawn Staley calls out national media, Iowa coach’s ‘bar fight’ comments
DALLAS – Dawn Staley has heard enough.
The South Carolina women’s basketball coach was asked about the way her team is labeled publicly for their physical style of play after being upset in the Final Four by Iowa. Staley set the record straight about her team, which she said “exemplifies how you need to approach basketball on the court and off the court.”
“We’re not bar fighters. We’re not thugs. We’re not monkeys. We’re not street fighters,” Staley said. “I do think that that’s sometimes brought into the game, and it hurts.”
— Cora Hall, Knoxville News Sentinel