Alexis Morris scored 21 points and third-seeded LSU used a stifling defense to defeat ninth-seeded Miami 54-42 in the final of the Greenville 2 Region on Sunday night in Greenville, S.C.
Angel Reese added 13 points and 18 rebounds to help send the Tigers (32-2) to the Final Four for the first time since 2008. This is coach Kim Mulkey’s second season with the team, though she led Baylor to national titles in 2005, 2012 and 2019.
LSU meets the winner of Monday’s Ohio State-Virginia Tech game in the Final Four on Friday night at Dallas.
Jasmyne Roberts scored 22 points for Miami (22-13), which shot 31.6 percent from the field. The Hurricanes missed all 15 of their attempts from 3-point range and finished with their second-lowest point total of the season.
LSU, which was 1-for-12 on 3s, hit just 30.2 percent of its shots, but forced 18 turnovers and benefitted from a 49-35 rebounding advantage.
Reese shot 7-for-10 on free throws, though the rest of the Tigers were 8-for-16 from the foul line.
LSU stretched a 26-20 halftime edge to 34-23 by holding Miami to three points in the first six-plus minutes of the second half.
The Hurricanes scored on baskets from Lazaria Spearman and Lashae Dwyer to close within 43-35 midway through the fourth quarter. But Miami failed to score on its next three possessions, even as LSU was going through a scoring drought of more than four minutes.
Morris ended that stretch, with her basket giving the Tigers a 45-35 edge with less than three minutes to play.
The teams combined to make seven of 31 shots from the field in the first quarter, which ended with LSU up 10-8.
Miami, trying to match its men’s team that secured a spot in the Final Four earlier in the day, couldn’t repeat upsets after ousting top-seeded Indiana and fourth-seeded Villanova. The Hurricanes were the lowest-seeded team to reach the Elite Eight.
–Field Level Media
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