Women's Final Four: LSU surges back to beat Virginia Tech, move on to national championship game

The Tigers trailed by nine entering the fourth quarter and dominated the Hokies down the stretch

An adage as old as time in sports is it isn't how you start, but how you finish -- and that's how LSU punched its ticket to the 2023 national championship. The No. 3 seed Tigers rallied back from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to top No. 1 seed Virginia Tech, 79-72, a result Angel Reese and Alexis Morris had their hands all over. 

Reese scored 24 points on 11-for-19 from the field, adding 12 rebounds with six coming on the offensive end. The Maryland transfer wore out the Virginia Tech frontcourt all night, helping the Tigers outscore the Hokies 28-11 in the final frame. Morris was pivotal to the Tigers' win as well, scoring a game-high 27 points. 

The Tigers got off to a hot start, built a 32-23 lead in the second quarter, and looked like they could run away with the game early. But the Hokies, powered by Elizabeth Kitley's 16 first half points and nine first half rebounds, finished the half on an 11-0 run to take a halftime lead. The Hokies created even more space with a crisp third quarter, going 8-of-15 from the floor and turning it over just twice in the frame to take a 59-50 lead into the fourth quarter. The Hokies played just six players, and their fatigue became evident as the game wore on. 

LSU opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run and didn't look back, outscoring Virginia Tech 29-13 in the fourth. Reese and Morris scored 20 of those 29 points to close the deal for the Tigers.

This national championship appearance is historic for both LSU and its coach, the legendary Kim Mulkey. The Tigers have yet to play for a national title until this point, and winning it all this year would be a storybook capper to the remarkable turnaround they've authored since winning a mere nine games in 2020-21. 

Mulkey, who LSU hired in April 2021, has been essential to that turnaround. And if Mulkey were to lead the Tigers to a national title, she'd be the first coach in the history of NCAA women's basketball to do so for two different programs after having won three national championships with Baylor. 

LSU will take on either Iowa or South Carolina in the national championship. That game is slated for Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.