Off Shooting Night Can’t Keep L.S.U. From the Final Four
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GREENVILLE, S.C. — Miami’s defense was playing at its peak. The Hurricanes had forced the Louisiana State star forward Angel Reese to miss all nine of her first-half shots in Sunday’s round-of-8 matchup in the women’s N.C.A.A. tournament. But at halftime, in a game that statistics suggested Miami should have been dominating, L.S.U. was up by 6 points.
That trend continued in the second half. Though L.S.U. displayed one of its worst shooting games of its season, the Tigers’ defense stifled Miami even more, and L.S.U. won, 54-42, to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2008.
Reese, who was named the most outstanding player in the Greenville 2 Region, produced her 32nd double-double of the season, filling the box score with 13 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. The Tigers were led by 21 points from Alexis Morris, who kept them going in the mistake-filled first half. On Friday in Dallas, L.S.U. will play the winner of Monday’s game between No. 1-seeded Virginia Tech and No. 3-seeded Ohio State
“I am the comeback kid,” said Morris, a fifth-year senior who played at Rutgers, Baylor, and Texas A&M. Morris, wearing the basketball net she had just cut down around her neck and a Final Four hat, added: “I beat it. I beat the odds.”
As confetti fell and players cut down the net, they gathered in a circle and danced at midcourt, Coach Kim Mulkey doing her best version of the popular griddy dance. By the end of the celebration, Mulkey was walking around the arena barefoot.
“I want to put a championship banner there some day,” Mulkey, a Louisiana native, said, adding: “South Carolina, I’ve said it from Day 1, is an unbelievable team and should win it all. But I’d sure love to be in that championship with them.”
Mulkey came to L.S.U. two seasons ago after 21 seasons and three championships at Baylor. The Tigers began this season with a largely new roster, adding nine players. Morris was the only returning starter.
“We don’t have to win a championship to see how much they love us,” Mulkey said of L.S.U.’s fan base. “I think they are going ‘What are we doing in year two? Are you kidding me?’”
Reese was among the newcomers, having transferred from Maryland in the off-season in search of a fresh start and moments like the Tigers had on Sunday, she said.
“We were underdogs all year and now to be in this moment; It’s just so joyful and exciting,” she said, adding: “I think that was what was important for me. And I needed Coach Mulkey. That’s just what I needed.”
The teams both missed more than two-thirds of their shots and combined for just a single 3-point basket in 27 tries, with the Tigers’ Kateri Poole hitting the only one after L.S.U. was well in control. “If you sit here and tell me L.S.U.’s going to shoot 30 percent, 8 percent from three, and 57 percent from the free throw line I’m thinking I’m cutting down a net right now,” Miami Coach Katie Meier said.
Meier said she thought Miami’s defensive plan worked, and pointed to Reese’s low field goal percentage. But the strategy opened the door for Morris, whom Meier credited as “the reason they’re out there and I’m sitting in here right now.”
The first half Sunday featured messy offense by both teams. They clanked open shots, turned the ball over and struggled to find a rhythm.
“If I was watching this game, I’d turn it off,” Mulkey said in an ESPN interview ahead of the fourth quarter.
The second half wasn’t much cleaner. Still, Reese’s rebounding created second-chance opportunities for the Tigers, who capitalized with layups to extend their lead and cruise to the win.
The Miami starting guards, Destiny Harden and Haley Cavinder, who have been among the Hurricanes’ scoring leaders in their three upset wins in this tournament, combined to finish 1 of 15 from the field with 5 points. Almost all of Miami’s offense came from Jasmyne Roberts, who finished with 22 points and scored 18 of Miami’s first 27.