DALLAS — Angel Reese raised her hand to the sky and flicked the tip of her fingers to her palm. She plopped down on the bench, lowered her head, puffed out a deep breath and pressed her hands together.
A couple minutes into the fourth quarter of LSU’s 79-72 win over Virginia Tech at the Final Four, Reese wore the effects of a rough, scrappy second half. The feeling was nothing new. All of LSU’s opponents this season — and especially their four previous foes in the NCAA tournament — made it a mission to rough her up in the post, to crawl under her skin, to tug her jersey, to block her sight and push her off the block.
Virginia Tech did the same in the national semifinals at American Airlines Center. But this moment was different — higher stakes, brighter lights, larger crowds.
Reese and her LSU teammates’ response to the chaos was much the same.
With a strong second half, Reese helped the Tigers erase a 12-point Hokies lead and into the first championship appearance in school history.
Reese finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds on Friday. Fourteen of her points and 10 of her rebounds came in the second half. Her drop-step layup with 8:16 remaining brought the Tigers within two points, 59-57, and forced Virginia Tech into a timeout.
From there, Reese beckoned to the crowd and caught her breath. The Tigers went on a 15-0 run and took a 10-point lead they didn’t relinquish.
“She’s our superstar,” freshman guard Flau’jae Johnson said of Reese, “and we’re just so grateful to have her. Such a dominant player. She held down (Elizabeth) Kitley, who is an amazing player as well. But Angel — she’s just that one.”
Early on in this semifinal, two things were clear: One, Virginia Tech did not have the size down low to match up with LSU. Two, they needed to keep the score close, just in case their 3-point shots started to fall.
The Hokies left their 5-foot-11 forward, Taylor Soule, largely on an island in the paint, alone to tussle with Reese and fight against her length. Reese and LaDazhia Williams didn’t have much trouble scoring inside. And Alexis Morris found open driving lanes and holes for short midrange jumpers. Morris finished with a game-high 27 points, and the trio of Reese, Williams and Morris combined to score 30 of LSU’s 32 first-half points.
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