LSU Women’s Basketball Made History.
Today, the LSU Women’s Basketball team is in for a celebration after making history this past weekend at the NCAA national championship! Coach Kim Mulkey led these Lady Tigers into victory for the first time in LSU history with key players like Angel Reese and Alexis Morris to create this beautiful moment in women’s sports!
For the first time ever, a national championship banner will hang in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mulkey, while remaining humble, never doubted they were bringing that banner home. Her bold, winning attitude pairs well with her flashy outfits, both of which spotlight Mulkey aside from her vast accomplishments.
She has never lost in a championship game. According to USA Today, Mulkey is now the third coach to win at least four national titles and the first to win titles at two different schools. It’s safe to say, Kim Mulkey is a boss.
“Nowhere on there did it say, 'national champions,' and that's what I came home to do,” Mulkey said.
Mulkey was always destined for greatness. She played basketball in her college years at Louisiana Tech, winning two championships with her team. She went on to coach there, first as an assistant in 1985 and then as associate head coach in 1996. She soon became the head coach for Baylor, where she led the Bears to their first championship in 2005, making Mulkey the first woman to win Division I titles as a player and a head coach, according to the Dallas Morning News. Then, she won two more before going to LSU to continue making women’s history, earning and winning LSU’s first national championship in her second season there.
Of course, she couldn’t do it without her teams.
Star players Angel Reese, Alexis Morris, Flau’jae Johnson, Jasmine Carson and LaDazhia Williams were ripping through the championship game, with a final score of 102-85. With coaching from Mulkey, these players were able to reach their full potential.
LSU fans all over the United States tuned in to see the Lady Tigers make history! According to ESPN’s review Monday, this game drew an average of 9.9 million viewers, making it the most viewed N.C.A.A. women’s basketball final in television history. Viewership, over the course of the game, peaked at 12.6 million viewers. The overall viewership DOUBLED from last year’s national championship game.
This changed the face of women’s basketball, breaking yet another record for viewership. It symbolizes people gaining a much-deserved interest in women’s sports, changing the stigma that it may not be as interesting or investing as men’s sports. Boy, we’re they wrong.
For many of the players, and for women everywhere, this was more than just a win.
Angel Reese, a sophomore at LSU, was heavily criticized by the media and viewers for being “ghetto” and “unsportsmanlike”. As a Black woman from Baltimore, Reese will not be apologizing for celebrating her and her team’s historical victory.
“All year, I was critiqued about who I was. I don't fit the narrative. I don't fit in the box that you all want me to be in. So, this is for the girls that look like me, that want to speak up on what they believe in. It's unapologetically you. It was bigger than me tonight.
Angel Reese
Reese was later honored with the award of 2023 Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament. Well-deserved.
LSU Women’s Basketball players, with Kim Mulkey’s coaching, have accomplished something unheard of for LSU. Here at PPG, we honor these players and Mulkey for stepping up and stepping out and expanding the sports world for women! Women are better together; the months of teamwork and lack of intimidation from these Lady Tigers show just that! Thank you for making history and paving the way for many female athletes!
If you want to celebrate with your community and the team, join in on the parade and celebration on campus today at 6:30 p.m.!!!
