Kim Mulkey and her LSU Tigers survive March Madness scare to beat UCLA and keep hopes of a National Championship rematch with Iowa alive… after buildup was dominated by Washington Post ‘hit piece’ on coach
In a contest that went down to the wire, the LSU Tigers officially advanced to the Elite Eight after upsetting the No. 2 UCLA Bruins 78-69 in their Sweet 16 matchup.
A clutch block with under two minutes to go by Angel Reese swung an advantage to the Tigers. They kept that advantage through to the end – with UCLA star Kiki Rice committing a key offensive foul down five points with about 40 seconds remaining.
It means that LSU could be on course for a re-match in the Elite Eight with Caitlin Clark and Iowa – the team they beat in last year’s national title game. That’ll happen if Iowa beats five-seed Colorado this afternoon.
LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson led all scorers with 24 points on a 6-10 shooting line alongside 12 rebounds. Fellow Bayou Bengals star Angel Reese put up a double-double of 16 points and ten boards before fouling out late in the game. Aneesah Morrow scored 17 and Mikaylah Williams put up 12 to round out the Tigers’ top performers.
Meanwhile, for the Bruins, four players hit double digits. Three players had 14 points each on the day: Londynn Jones, Gabriela Jaquez, and Lauren Betts – who dropped a double-double of 14 points and 17 rebounds. Freshman star Kiki Rice fouled out late in the contest but put up 13 points.
Flau’jae Johnson led all scorers with 24 points at No. 3 LSU upset No. 2 UCLA 78-69
Fellow star Angel Reese fouled out at the end of the game but dropped a double-double
Prior to the game, a long-awaited Washington Post profile of coach Kim Mulkey was published
The fourth quarter of this tight game began tied at 48-48 – with the two teams punching and counterpunching to start, unable to take a true advantage.
LSU took its first fourth-quarter lead with 5:58 remaining in the fourth quarter – only for the Bruins to take the lead about a minute later after a converted layup followed by a free throw from Gabriela Jaquez in a two-possession sequence.
The Tigers wouldn’t take back the lead until there was 1:46 remaining in the game – when Reese sank a pair of free throws.
Morrow and Johnson both dropped seven points in the fourth quarter as the Tigers out-scored the Bruins in the final frame by a score of 30-21.
The preamble to this game involved the publication of a long-awaited Washington Post article profiling Mulkey and her rise to her current position.
Mulkey had been prefacing this article’s release by calling it a ‘hit-piece’ and threatening to sue the paper if it was published.
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