Plenty of fight, focus for LSU
Angel Reese says LSU’s players are embracing the role of “good villains” as they make a run toward repeating as national champions.
Flau’jae Johnson had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Reese put up her 26th double-double of the season Saturday as LSU (31-5) beat UCLA 78-69 in the Sweet 16.
Reese had 16 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out late in the game for the Tigers, who closed the game on a 14-2 run. Aneesah Morrow had 17 points and Mikaylah Williams added 12.
And all the while the Tigers did their usual trash-talking, screaming and waving goodbye to their opponent.
“We’re the good villains,” Reese said. “We’re impacting the game so much and all of us are super competitive and want to win and do whatever it takes to win. We’re just changing the game.”
LSU advanced to the Elite Eight, where it will face Caitlin Clark and Iowa on Monday night in a rematch of last year’s national championship game.
“I think that I wasn’t scared of the moment,” Johnson said of her game. “I really loved the delight. I love that underdog feeling. Coach Mulkey told me go do what you do, and I did.”
The Bruins made only one of 16 shots from behind the arc before Londynn Jones’ 3-pointer from the left wing just before the halftime buzzer. That ended an 8-0 LSU run and cut what had been a 10-point lead to 34-27.
“Credit to LSU,” Bruins coach Cori Close said. “They got the shots that they wanted down the stretch, and we didn’t get the shots that we wanted. We did not execute the way that we needed to, and that’s one that’s going to sting for a really long time for me.”
The game was played hours after The Washington Post released a much-anticipated story about LSU coach Kim Mulkey, over which she had threatened legal action, warning it would be a “hit piece.” Instead, it was a profile highlighting both positive and negative aspects of her career and describing her as a colorful personality who “wears feathers almost as dramatically as she ruffles them.”
She wore a loud, multicolored sparkling suit on Saturday. After the game, she said she likely would not read the article but questioned the timing of its release just before her team arrived at the arena.
“Imagine that. Must have thought y’all would look at it, get some clicks or be a distraction,” she said.
Clark leads Iowa to win over Colorado:
Caitlin Clark had 29 points and 15 assists to lead top-seeded Iowa to an 89-68 win over fifth-seeded Colorado on Saturday, setting up a rematch of last year’s national title game against LSU.
The Tigers, who beat the Hawkeyes in the championship game a year ago, topped UCLA in Saturday’s earlier semifinal in the Albany 2 Region. The teams will play Monday night.
Clark got the Hawkeyes (32-4) going early, driving to the basket for easy layups or throwing fantastic passes. About the only thing missing from Clark’s day was one of her signature midcourt logo shots. She took a couple, but missed.