LSU women dominate Iowa, win first NCAA basketball championship

DALLAS — Jasmine Carson has a message for everyone who thought this entire Final Four was supposed to be about a junior guard from Iowa. 

Transfers matter, too. 

Carson, one of nine newcomers for LSU this season, scored 22 points off the bench — in just 22 minutes — and third-seeded LSU rolled to a 102-85 win defeat of Iowa and Caitlin Clark to claim the 2023 national championship. 

It was an astonishing performance for Carson, on her third school after stops at Georgia Tech and West Virginia. The Tigers, who are in just year two of the Kim Mulkey era, were pretty good, too. LSU won the rebounding battles 36-26, turning 14 offensive boards into 14 second-chance points. They also hit 10 threes (their season high is 11) and shot 54% from the field, leading for more than 34 minutes. 

With the win, Mulkey becomes the first coach in the women’s game to lead two schools to national championships (she won three at Baylor). One men’s coach, Rick Pitino, did the same at Kentucky and Louisville, though the Louisville title was later vacated. Previously, Mulkey became the first person to win titles as a coach and player. 

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