The LSU Tigers women's basketball team represents

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

women's

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

. The head coach is

Kim Mulkey Kimberly Duane Mulkey (born May 17, 1962) is an American college basketball coach and former player. Since 2021, she has been the head coach for Louisiana State University's LSU Tigers women's basketball, women's basketball team. A Pan-American ...

, the former head coach at

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

, 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 Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. LSU was the 2023 NCAA national champion, having defeated

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

102–85 in the national championship game.

Roster

History

Through the 2023–24 season, LSU has made 30 AIAW/NCAA tournament appearances including 16 Sweet Sixteens, 10 Elite Eights, and six Final Fours highlighted by a National championship in 2023. The Lady Tigers have won the SEC regular season championship three times and the SEC Tournament championship twice.

Coleman-Swanner era (1975–1982)

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 The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was a college athletics organization in the United States, founded in 1971 to govern women's college competitions in the country and to administer national championships (see AIAW Cham ...

national championship game before losing to top-ranked

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

, 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 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

become the governing body of collegiate women's basketball. LSU did not play in the first NCAA tournament.

Sue Gunter era (1982–2004)

Future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

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 Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, 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 (2004–2007)

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 (2007–2011)

Van Chancellor, the former head coach for Ole Miss and the

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

, 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.

Nikki Fargas era (2011–2021)

Nikki Fargas was hired for the 2011–2012 season and coached the team for ten seasons. She finished with an overall record of 176–126 and SEC Conference record of 80–76. She made the NCAA Tournament six times while making two Sweet Sixteen appearances.

Kim Mulkey era (2021–present)

On April 25, 2021, LSU announced the signing of

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. 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. 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.

Championships

Final Fours

LSU has played in six Final Fours in the

NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, sometimes referred to as Women's March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Div ...

tournament.

Conference championships

LSU has won three regular-season conference championships and two conference tournament championships in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC).

Year by year results

Conference tournament winners noted with #
Source:

Postseason

NCAA Tournament seeding history

NCAA Division I

AIAW Division I

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

Player awards

National awards

NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player The Most Outstanding Player (MOP) is awarded to one player after the conclusion of the championship game of the NCAA Division I NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, men's and NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, women's basketb ...

: Angel Reese - 2023 * John R. Wooden Award :

Seimone Augustus Seimone Delicia Augustus (born April 30, 1984) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. She is currently an assistant coach for the LSU Tigers women's basketball, Louisiana State University women's basketball team. She was ...

- 2005, 2006 *

Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is "the most prestigious national award presented annually to the men's and women's college basketball players of the year," as chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors. It is named in honor o ...

- 2005, 2006 * Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year :

- 2005, 2006 * Nancy Lieberman Award : Temeka Johnson - 2005 * Katrina McClain Award : Aneesah Morrow - 2025 * Senior CLASS Award :

- 2006 * USBWA National Freshman of the Year :

- 2003 *

Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State ...

- 2005, 2006

SEC Awards

Player of the Year Award Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

- 2005, 2006 : Sylvia Fowles - 2008 : Angel Reese - 2024

Prominent players

Retired numbers

LSU All-Americans

Arena

Pete Maravich Assembly Center

left, 200px, Pete Maravich Assembly Center The Pete Maravich Assembly Center is a 13,215-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

. The

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 Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. He starred in college at Louisiana State University's Tigers basketball team; his father, Press Mar ...

, a

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

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 Richard "Dick" John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadc ...

. 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

concourse is divided into four quadrants:

Pass, The Walk of Champions, Heroes Hall and Midway of Memories. The quadrants highlight former LSU Tiger

athletes An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including trac ...

, individual and team

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

s and

memorabilia A souvenir (French language, French for 'a remembrance or memory'), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memory, memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collecte ...

pertaining to the history of LSU Lady Tigers and LSU Tigers

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

teams.

Practice and Training facilities

LSU Basketball Practice Facility

The LSU Basketball Practice Facility is the practice facility for the LSU Lady Tigers basketball and

LSU Tigers basketball The LSU Tigers men's basketball team (aka. The Louisiana State University Tigers team) represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. The Tigers are currently lead by head coach Matt McMahon (basketball), Matt M ...

teams. The facility is connected to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center through the Northwest portal. The facility features separate, full-size duplicate

gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

nasiums for the women's and men's basketball teams. They include a regulation

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 A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score (sport), score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards i ...

, video filming balcony and scorer's table with video and data connection. The facility also houses team locker rooms, a team lounge,

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

rooms, a coach's locker room and coach's offices. 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 Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

is located in front of the facility.

LSU Strength and Conditioning facility

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. 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. It also features 2 treadmills, 4 stationary bikes, 2 elliptical cross trainers, a stepper and step mill.

Head coaches

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:LSU Tigers women's basketball Basketball teams established in 1975 1975 establishments in Louisiana