LSU earns No. 3 seed, hosts Hawai’i to open NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament

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BATON ROUGE – For the second straight year under second-year LSU Head Coach Kim Mulkey, the Tigers have earned the ability to host first- and second-round games in the NCAA Tournament, as they heard their name called as a No. 3 seed during Sunday’s selection show on ESPN.

The first-round in Baton Rouge will be played on Friday, March 17. In the PMAC also on the Friday will be the matchup between No. 6-seeded Michigan (22-9) and No. 11-seeded UNLV (31-2).

The winners of the first-round games will square off on Sunday, March, 19, at the Maravich Center for a chance to go to the Sweet Sixteen in Greensboro, S.C.

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It was the second-straight year that LSU has hosted a watch party with its fans inside the PMAC and heard its name called as one of the tournament’s top-16 overall seeds, giving the Tigers the ability to host NCAA Tournament games once again. LSU averaged 8,650 fans per home game throughout the regular season – the second highest average attendance in the SEC this year.

Tickets go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. CT. Season ticket holders are reminded that, since this is officially an NCAA event, they may not have the same seats they sat in throughout the regular season.

Coach Mulkey led the greatest single season turnaround by a first-year head coach in SEC history in 2021-22 and the Tigers finished 26-6 in her first year at LSU. From that team, Alexis Morris is the only major contributor on the 2022-23 team. The Tigers added nine new pieces going into this season – four freshmen and five transfers.

As an encore to her first-year success at LSU, Coach Mulkey and the Tigers went 27-1 in the regular season this year, matching the best regular season record in program history. LSU began its season winning its first 23 games, the best start in program history and the longest win-streak in program history. After going 1-1 in Greenville, S.C. last week at the SEC Tournament, LSU enters March Madness with a 28-2 record.

The Tigers began the season with a school-record five consecutive 100-point games, tying what is believed to be the NCAA record that was set in 1981-82 by Louisiana Tech when Mulkey played for the Lady Techsters. LSU remained flawless through non-conference as the nine new pieces meshed and gained chemistry playing on the court.

Once conference play began, LSU remained hot. Through its SEC slate, LSU had a scoring margin of +15.5. Shooting the ball well both inside and out with talented perimeter and post players, the Tigers

Angel Reese has put together one of the best seasons by an LSU player. She recorded 23 straight double-doubles to begin the season and currently has 28 on the year, both LSU records that were previously held by Sylvia Fowles. Reese also has a nation-leading five games with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.

The freshman Flau’jae Johnson showed her talent on the court on the way to winning SEC Freshman of the Year. Morris, the only returning contributor from last year’s team, settled into her new role as the team’s points guard. She has continued to show her ability to score in a variety of ways while expanding her game as a distributor for her teammates. Jasmine Carson has been a sharpshooter for the Tigers and LaDazhia Williams has been a steadying presence in the paint throughout the year.

Kateri Poole, Last-Tear Poa and Sa’Myah Smith have all played critical roles coming off the bench for LSU in their first seasons in Baton Rouge.