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Jasmine Carson picked an excellent day to play one of the best basketball games of her life.
In the national championship at the American Airlines Center, Carson scored 22 points to lead No. 3-seeded LSU to a 102-85 win over No. 2 Iowa, making the Tigers champions of women’s college basketball for the first time in front of an announced sellout crowd of 19,482 fans.
“I just wanted to win. I wanted to do anything that my team needed in this game, whether it was defense, rebounding, just anything, supporting them,” Carson said. “I scored tonight, and that’s what pushed us and got us momentum, and I’m just proud of my teammates.”
It’s the fourth national title for LSU coach Kim Mulkey, who won her first three titles at Baylor. She became the first women’s coach in the sport’s history to win national championships at two Division I programs.
“With about 1:30 to go, I couldn’t hold it. I got very emotional. That’s really not like me until the buzzer goes off, but I knew we were going to hold on and win this game,” Mulkey said. “Coaches are hollering, ‘Get off the court.’ And I said, ‘Don’t tell me what to do, I’m fixing to win another championship.’”
Carson — a fifth-year guard who transferred to LSU (34-2) last offseason after spending previous seasons at West Virginia and Georgia Tech — didn’t miss a shot attempt until the fourth quarter.
