LSU Tigers women's basketball

(Redirected from LSU Lady Tigers basketball)

The LSU Tigers women's basketball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I women's college basketball. The head coach is Kim Mulkey, the former head coach at Baylor University, who was hired on April 25, 2021 to replace Nikki Fargas, who had been head coach since the 2011–2012 season. The team plays its home games in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center located on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

LSU Tigers women's basketball
2023–24 LSU Tigers women's basketball team
UniversityLouisiana State University
Founded1975 (48 years ago)
Athletic directorScott Woodward
Head coachKim Mulkey (3rd season)
ConferenceSEC
LocationBaton Rouge, Louisiana
ArenaPete Maravich Assembly Center
(Capacity: 13,472)
NicknameLady Tigers
ColorsPurple and gold[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away
Alternate jersey
Team colours
Alternate
NCAA tournament champions
2023
NCAA tournament Final Four
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2023
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1986, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2023, 2024
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1984, 1986, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2023, 2024
NCAA tournament appearances
1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024
AIAW tournament runner-up
1977
AIAW tournament Final Four
1977
AIAW tournament appearances
1977
Conference tournament champions
1991, 2003
Conference regular season champions
2005, 2006, 2008
Pete Maravich Assembly Center

LSU is the 2023 NCAA national champion, having defeated Iowa 102–85 in the national championship game.

Roster edit

2024–25 LSU Tigers women's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F2Amani Bartlett6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)JrHouston Christian HSCleveland, TX
G4Flau'jae Johnson5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)SoSprayberry HSSavannah, GA
F5Sa'Myah Smith6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)SoDeSoto HSDeSoto, TX
G12Mikaylah Williams6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)FrParkway HSBossier City, LA
G13Last-Tear Poa5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)JrUC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra
Northwest Florida State College
Melbourne, Australia
G14Izzy Besselman5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)SoEpiscopal SchoolBaton Rouge, LA
C23Aalyah Del Rosario6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)FrThe Webb SchoolThe Bronx, NY
G24Aneesah Morrow6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)JrSimeon Career Academy
DePaul
Chicago, IL
GTBDJada Richard5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)FrLafayette Christian AcademyLafayette, LA
GTBDKailyn Gilbert5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)JrIMG Academy
Arizona
Tampa Bay, FL
GTBDMjracle Sheppard5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)SoMontverde Academy
Mississippi State
Kent, WA
GTBDShayeann Day-Wilson5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)JrRoyal Crown
Miami
Toronto, ON
G/FTBDJersey Wolfenbarger6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)JrNorthside HS
Arkansas
Fort Smith, AR
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

History edit

Through the 2018–19 season, LSU has made 27 AIAW/NCAA tournament appearances including 14 Sweet Sixteens, eight Elite Eights, and six Final Fours. The Lady Tigers have won the SEC regular season championship three times and the SEC Tournament championship twice.

Coleman-Swanner era edit

The LSU women's basketball team started play in 1975 as the "Ben-Gals," with coach Jinks Coleman. In just their second season of play, the team made it to the AIAW national championship game before losing to top-ranked Delta State, 68–55. Coleman stepped down in the middle of the 1978–79 season and was replaced by Barbara Swanner, who in turn led the team for three and a half seasons. The 1981–82 season saw the NCAA become the governing body of collegiate women's basketball. LSU did not play in the first NCAA tournament.

Sue Gunter era edit

Future Hall of Fame coach Sue Gunter was hired to replace Swanner. Gunter would lead the Lady Tigers for the next 22 seasons. Gunter led the Lady Tigers to 14 NCAA tournament appearances. Although she only won three regular season titles, for most of her tenure the SEC was dominated by national powers Tennessee, Auburn and Ole Miss. Gunter took a medical leave of absence in the middle of the 2003–04 season. Her top assistant, Pokey Chatman, who had played for Gunter in the late 1980s and early 1990s and served as an assistant coach since the end of her playing days, took over as interim coach and led the Tigers to their first Final Four. However, Gunter was still officially head coach, and LSU credits the entire season to her. Gunter retired after the season, and Chatman was named her permanent successor.

Pokey Chatman era edit

Pokey Chatman led the team to two more consecutive Final Four appearances and was highly regarded as coach. However, during the 2006–2007 season, just prior to the NCAA Tournament, Chatman resigned after allegations of improper conduct with a former player surfaced. She was replaced on an interim basis by longtime assistant Bob Starkey, who coached the team during the 2007 NCAA tournament, leading them to a fourth consecutive Final Four.

Van Chancellor era (2006–2011) edit

Van Chancellor, the former head coach for Ole Miss and the Houston Comets, was hired at the end of the 2006–2007 season as a permanent replacement. In his first year as coach, Chancellor led the Lady Tigers to the SEC regular season championship. The Lady Tigers were runner-up in the 2008 SEC women's basketball tournament and made the NCAA Final Four for a fifth consecutive year. LSU joined UConn as the only two schools ever to reach five consecutive Final Fours.

LSU NCAAW has officially beat 150/153 teams as of 2023.

Kim Mulkey era (2021–present) edit

On April 25, 2021, LSU announced the signing of Kim Mulkey to replace Fargas as head coach. Mulkey played at Louisiana Tech, where she also went on to be an assistant and associate head coach for 15 years. Prior to accepting the offer to coach LSU, she was the head coach for Baylor University, where she won three national championships in 21 seasons.[2]

On December 2, 2021, Mulkey led the team to their first win versus a ranked team by defeating #14 Iowa State 69–60 in the Maravich Center giving the team a 7–1 record for the year.

On April 2, 2023, LSU would defeat the Iowa Hawkeyes, by the score of 102–85, to win their first ever national championship; the game also marked the highest scoring championship game in women's NCAA history.[3]

In April 2024, the team made international headlines after it missed the singing of the national anthem before their NCAA Tournament defeat against Iowa. Louisiana’s Republican governor, Jeff Landry, called for the scholarships of any athlete who missed the singing of the anthem to be revoked.[4]

Championships edit

Final Fours edit

LSU has played in six Final Fours in the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship tournament.

YearCoachRecord
2003–04Sue Gunter27–7
2004–05Pokey Chatman33–3
2005–06Pokey Chatman31–4
2006–07Pokey Chatman30–8
2007–08Van Chancellor31–6
2022–23Kim Mulkey32–2
Total Final Fours: 6

Conference championships edit

LSU has won three regular-season conference championships and two conference tournament championships in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

YearConferenceCoachOverall RecordConference Record
1990–91SEC tournamentSue Gunter24–75–4
2002–03SEC tournamentSue Gunter30–411–3
2004–05SECPokey Chatman33–314–0
2005–06SECPokey Chatman31–413–1
2007–08SECVan Chancellor31–614–0
Total conference championships: 5

Year by year results edit

SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseasonCoaches' pollAP poll
Jinks Coleman (Independent) (1975–1979)
1975–76Jinks Coleman17–14AIAW Regional
1976–77Jinks Coleman29–8AIAW Second Place11
1977–78Jinks Coleman37–3AIAW Regional10
1978–79Jinks Coleman8–7
Jinks Coleman:91–32
Barbara Swanner (Independent, SEC) (1979–1983)
1979Barbara Swanner5–5AIAW Regional
1979–80Barbara Swanner17–17AIAW Regional
1980–81Barbara Swanner17–15AIAW Regional
1981–82Barbara Swanner18–13
Barbara Swanner:57–50
Sue Gunter (SEC) (1982–2004)
1982–83Sue Gunter20–76–2T-1st (SEC West)20
1983–84Sue Gunter23–75–3T-2nd (SEC West)NCAA Sweet Sixteen8
1984–85Sue Gunter20–94–43rd (SEC West)NWIT Champions
1985–86Sue Gunter27–66–3T-2ndNCAA Elite Eight89
1986–87Sue Gunter20–86–3T-4thNCAA Second Round (Bye)1914
1987–88Sue Gunter18–116–33rdNCAA First Round
1988–89Sue Gunter19–115–4T-4thNCAA Sweet Sixteen14
1989–90Sue Gunter21–94–5T-6thNCAA First Round23
1990–91Sue Gunter24–75–44th#NCAA Second Round (Bye)188
1991–92Sue Gunter16–134–7T-7th
1992–93Sue Gunter9–180–1112th
1993–94Sue Gunter11–162–9T-10th
1994–95Sue Gunter7–201–10T-10th
1995–96Sue Gunter21–114–7T-8thNWIT Third Place
1996–97Sue Gunter25–59–3T-3rdNCAA Sweet Sixteen129
1997–98Sue Gunter19–137–7T-6thWNIT Semifinals
1998–99Sue Gunter22–810–42ndNCAA Sweet Sixteen2121
1999–2000Sue Gunter25–711–33rdNCAA Elite Eight815
2000–01Sue Gunter20–118–6T-4thNCAA Second Round2018
2001–02Sue Gunter18–128–6T-4thNCAA Second Round2222
2002–03Sue Gunter30–411–32nd#NCAA Elite Eight53
2003–04Sue Gunter27–710–42ndNCAA Final Four319
Sue Gunter:442–220132–111
Pokey Chatman (SEC) (2004–2007)
2004–05Pokey Chatman33–314–01stNCAA Final Four32
2005–06Pokey Chatman31–413–11stNCAA Final Four45
2006–07Pokey Chatman30–810–4T-3rdNCAA Final Four412
Pokey Chatman:94–1537–5
Van Chancellor (SEC) (2008–2012)
2007–08Van Chancellor31–614–01stNCAA Final Four46
2008–09Van Chancellor19–1110–4T-2ndNCAA Second Round
2009–10Van Chancellor21–109–7T-3rdNCAA Second Round2521
2010–11Van Chancellor19–138–8T-5th
Van Chancellor:90–4041–19
Nikki Fargas (SEC) (2011–2021)
2011–12Nikki Caldwell23–1110–6T-4thNCAA Second Round
2012–13Nikki Caldwell22–1210–66thNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2013–14Nikki Fargas21–137–9T-6thNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2014–15Nikki Fargas17–1410–6T-4thNCAA First Round
2015–16Nikki Fargas10–213–1313th
2016–17Nikki Fargas20–128–87thNCAA First Round
2017–18Nikki Fargas18–710–43rdNCAA First Round24
2018–19Nikki Fargas16–137–96thTurned down NIT Bid
2019–20Nikki Fargas20–109-77thTournament Cancelled Due to Covid-19
2020–21Nikki Fargas9–136–88th
Nikki Fargas:176–12680–76
Kim Mulkey (SEC) (2021–present)
2021–22Kim Mulkey26–613–32ndNCAA Second Round
2022–23Kim Mulkey34–215–12ndNCAA National Champions91
2023–24Kim Mulkey31–613-32ndNCAA Elite Eight1113
Kim Mulkey:91–1437–7
Total:1,039–497

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Conference tournament winners noted with #
Source: [5]

Postseason edit

NCAA Tournament history & seeds edit

Years'84'86'87'88'89'90'91'97'99'00'01'02'03'04'05'06'07'08'09'10'12'13'14'15'17'18'22'23'24
Seeds524949244366141132675671186333

NCAA Division I edit

YearSeedRoundOpponentResult
1984#5First Round
Sweet Sixteen
#4 Missouri
#1 Louisiana Tech
W 92-82
L 67-92
1986#2Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#10 Middle Tenn
#3 Ohio State
#4 Tennessee
W 78-65
W 81-80
L 65-67
1987#4Second Round#5 Southern IllinoisL 56-70
1988#9First Round#8 Stephen F. AustinL 62-84
1989#4Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#5 Purdue
#1 Louisiana Tech
W 54-53
L 68-85
1990#9First Round#8 Southern MissL 65-75
1991#2First Round#10 LamarL 73-93
1997#4First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#13 Maine
#12 Marquette
#1 Old Dominion
W 88-79
W 71-58
L 49-62
1999#4First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#13 Evansville
#5 Notre Dame
#1 Louisiana Tech
W 78-69
W 74-64
L 52-73
2000#3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#14 Liberty
#11 Stephen F. Austin
#2 Duke
#1 UConn
W 77-54
W 57-45
W 79-66
L 71-86
2001#6First Round
Second Round
#11 Arizona State
#3 Purdue
W 83-66
L 70-73
2002#6First Round
Second Round
#11 Santa Clara
#3 Colorado
W 84-78
L 58-69
2003#1First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#16 Texas State
#8 Green Bay
#5 Louisiana Tech
#2 Texas
W 86-50
W 80-69
W 69-63
L 60-78
2004#4First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
#13 Austin Peay
#12 Maryland
#1 Texas
#3 Georgia
#1 Tennessee
W 83-66
W 76-61
W 71-55
W 62-60
L 50-52
2005#1First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
#16 Stetson
#9 Arizona
#13 Liberty
#2 Duke
#2 Baylor
W 70-36
W 76-43
W 90-48
W 59-49
L 57-68
2006#1First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
#16 Florida Atlantic
#9 Washington
#4 DePaul
#3 Stanford
#1 Duke
W 72-48
W 72-49
W 66-56
W 62-59
L 45-64
2007#3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
#14 UNC Asheville
#11 West Virginia
#10 Florida State
#1 Connecticut
#4 Rutgers
W 77-39
W 49-43
W 55-43
W 73-50
L 35-59
2008#2First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
#15 Jackson State
#7 Marist
#3 Oklahoma State
#1 North Carolina
#1 Tennessee
W 66-32
W 68-49
W 67-52
W 56-50
L 46-47
2009#6First Round
Second Round
#11 Green Bay
#3 Louisville
W 69-59
L 52-62
2010#7First Round
Second Round
#10 Hartford
#2 Duke
W 60-39
L 52-60
2012#5First Round
Second Round
#12 San Diego State
#4 Penn State
W 64-56
L 80-90
2013#6First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#11 Green Bay
#3 Penn State
#2 California
W 75-71
W 71-66
L 63-73
2014#7First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#10 Georgia Tech
#2 West Virginia
#3 Louisville
W 98-78
W 76-67
L 47-73
2015#11First Round#6 South FloridaL 64-73
2017#8First Round#9 CaliforniaL 52-55
2018#6First Round#11 Central MichiganL 69-78
2022#3First Round
Second Round
#14 Jackson State
#6 Ohio State
W 83–77
L 64–79
2023#3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Championship
#14 Hawai'i
#6 Michigan
#2 Utah
#9 Miami (FL)
#1 Virginia Tech
#2 Iowa
W 73–50
W 66–42
W 66–63
W 54–42
W 79–72
W 102–85
2024#3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#14 Rice
#11 Middle Tennessee
#2 UCLA
#1 Iowa
W 70–60
W 83–56
W 78–69
L 87–94

AIAW Division I edit

The Lady Tigers made one appearance in the AIAW National Division I basketball tournament, with a combined record of 3–1.

YearRoundOpponentResult
1977First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
National Championship
Western Washington
Baylor
Immaculata
Delta State
W, 91–53
W, 71–64
W, 74–68
L, 55–68

Player awards edit

National awards edit

SEC Awards edit

Seimone Augustus - 2005, 2006
Sylvia Fowles - 2008

Prominent players edit

Retired numbers edit

No.MemberPositionCareerYear No. Retired
33Seimone AugustusSG2002–20062010
34Sylvia FowlesC2004–20082017

LSU All-Americans edit

PlayerPositionYear(s)
Angel ReeseF2023, 2023 (Most Outstanding Player of the NCAAW Tournament, National Champion)
Seimone AugustusG2004, 2005 (National Player of the Year), 2006 (National Player of the Year)
Pokey ChatmanG1991
Marie FerdinandG2001
Sylvia FowlesC2007, 2008
Julie GrossF1978
Joyce WalkerG1983, 1984

Arena edit

Pete Maravich Assembly Center edit

Pete Maravich Assembly Center

The Pete Maravich Assembly Center is a 13,215-seat multi-purpose arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The arena opened in 1972 and is home of the LSU Lady Tigers basketball team. It was originally known as the LSU Assembly Center, but was renamed in honor of Pete Maravich, a Tiger basketball legend, shortly after his death in 1988. The Maravich Center is known to locals as "The PMAC" or "The Palace that Pete Built," or by its more nationally known nickname, "The Deaf Dome," coined by Dick Vitale.[6]

The slightly oval building is located directly to the north of Tiger Stadium, and its bright-white roof can be seen in many telecasts of that stadium. The arena concourse is divided into four quadrants: Pete Maravich Pass, The Walk of Champions, Heroes Hall and Midway of Memories. The quadrants highlight former LSU Tiger athletes, individual and team awards and memorabilia pertaining to the history of LSU Lady Tigers and LSU Tigers basketball teams.[7]

Practice and Training facilities edit

LSU Basketball Practice Facility edit

LSU Basketball Practice Facility

The LSU Basketball Practice Facility is the practice facility for the LSU Lady Tigers basketball and LSU Tigers basketball teams. The facility is connected to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center through the Northwest portal. The facility features separate, full-size duplicate gymnasiums for the women's and men's basketball teams. They include a regulation NCAA court in length with two regulation high school courts in the opposition direction. The courts are exact replicas of the Maravich Center game court and have two portable goals and four retractable goals. The gymnasiums are equipped with a scoreboard, video filming balcony and scorer's table with video and data connection. The facility also houses team locker rooms, a team lounge, training rooms, a coach's locker room and coach's offices.[8]

The building also includes a two-story lobby and staircase that ascends to the second level where a club room is used for pre-game and post-game events and is connected to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center concourse. The lobby includes team displays and graphics, trophy cases and memorabilia of LSU basketball. A 900-pound bronze statue of LSU legend Shaquille O'Neal is located in front of the facility.[8]

LSU Strength and Conditioning facility edit

The LSU Tigers basketball strength training and conditioning facility is located in the LSU Strength and Conditioning facility. Built in 1997, it is located adjacent to Tiger Stadium.[9] Measuring 10,000-square feet with a flat surface, it has 28 multi-purpose power stations, 36 assorted sectorized machines and 10 dumbbell stations along with a plyometric specific area, medicine balls, hurdles, plyometric boxes and assorted speed and agility equipment.[10] It also features 2 treadmills, 4 stationary bikes, 2 elliptical cross trainers, a stepper and step mill.[11]

Head coaches edit

NameYearsRecordPct.
Jinks Coleman1975–197991–32(.740)
Barbara Swanner1979–198257–50(.533)
Sue Gunter1982–2004442–221(.667)
Pokey Chatman2004–200790–14(.865)
Bob Starkey (interim)20074–1(.800)
Van Chancellor2007–201190–40(.692)
Nikki Fargas2011–2021148–106(.583)
Kim Mulkey2021–present91–14(.867)

References edit

  1. ^ "Brand Guidelines: Colors". LSUAthletics.LingoApp.com. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  2. ^ "Hall of Fame coach Mulkey leaves Baylor for LSU". ESPN.com. 2021-04-25. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  3. ^ Buercklin, Kacey (2023-04-02). "LSU Tigers win 1st national championship in women's basketball". WDSU. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  4. ^ "Governor threatens scholarships after LSU women miss anthem at NCAA tournament". The Guardian. 3 April 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Media Guide". LSU. Archived from the original on 13 August 2013. Retrieved 11 Aug 2013.
  6. ^ "Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge". www.tvtrip.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  7. ^ "LSU Men's Basketball Facilities". lsusports.net. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  8. ^ a b "LSU Basketball Practice Facility". lsusports.net. Archived from the original on 10 February 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  9. ^ "LSU Strength and Conditioning". lsusports.net. September 29, 2009. Archived from the original on 2013-09-03. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  10. ^ "A Strength Training Legacy" (PDF). biggerfasterstronger.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-10-28. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
  11. ^ "LSU Tigers' Weight Room". ESPN The Magazine. November 14, 2012. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved 2014-02-11.

External links edit