ncaa tournament

No. 3 LSU Eliminates No. 9 Miami to Advance to Women's Final Four

The Tigers will play the winner of No. 1 Virginia Tech vs. No. 3 Ohio State in the Final Four

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The LSU Tigers are headed to Dallas.

The No. 3-seeded Tigers advanced to the Final Four of the 2023 women's NCAA Tournament on Sunday with a 54-42 win vs. No. 9-seeded Miami (Fl.).

Based on the first-quarter display from both sides, getting points would not be easy. A combination of hard-nosed defense and missed shots led to a 10-8 LSU advantage going into the second quarter, but neither team blazed the nets afterward.

LSU outscored Miami 16-12 in the second to take a 26-20 lead at the interval, which is where the Tigers gained momentum.

Angel Reese and Alexis Morris finally saw their shots fall throughout the third quarter where they leveraged a 12-7 scoring advantage to lead 38-27 going into the fourth. That lead increased to 16 with seven minutes left in the quarter when Morris found Kateri Poole for a rare 3-pointer for either side, pushing the cushion to 43-27.

But the Hurricanes kept fighting and responded with an 8-0 run to make the game state intriguing. Lashae Dwyer and Lazaria Spearman were the two who got the Hurricanes spinning with life, but Morris and Reese countered the run with clutch shots of their own to hold on for the win.

Miami marginally shot better than LSU on the game, going 18-for-57 overall (31.6%) to the Tigers' 19-for-63 (30.2%) mark. The disparity came from the 3-point and free throw lines, however. LSU may have shot 1-for-12 (8.3%) from deep, but Miami missed all 15 of its attempts. Then the Tigers converted 15 of 26 (57.7%) free throws to Miami's 6 of 9 (66.7%) rate.

Morris led the Tigers with 21 points on 8-for-22 shooting. Reese had a shooting night to forget going 3-for-15, but her 7-for-10 free throw clip helped her stuff the stat sheet with 13 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.

Jasmyne Roberts was the sole Hurricane to reach double-digit points, and it was by a significant margin. The sophomore posted 22 points on 10-for-20 shooting (0-for-6 from deep), seven rebounds and three assists. No other teammate scored more than four points, with Spearman and Dwyer each doing so off the bench.

The win marks the LSU women's sixth appearance in the Final Four, its first since the 2008 season. That year the Tigers lost to eventual champion No. 1 Tennessee 47-46. They have never made the national championship game.

Despite the loss, the tournament still ends as a success for the Hurricanes. The Elite Eight was the furthest the women's side had ever gone, with the previous mark being the Sweet 16 in 1992. It also included eliminating No. 1 Indiana 70-68 in the second round.

LSU will play the winner of No. 1 Virginia Tech vs. No. 3 Ohio State on Friday, March 31 at the American Airlines Center, home of the Dallas Mavericks.

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