LSU Tigers women's basketball

LSU Tigers women's basketball
2024-25 LSU Tigers women's basketball team
University	Louisiana State University
Founded	1975 (48 years ago)
Athletic director	Scott Woodward
Head coach	Kim Mulkey (4th season)
Conference	SEC
Location	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Arena	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (capacity: 13,472)
Nickname	Lady Tigers
Colors	Purple and gold[1]
Uniforms
Home Away 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

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

2024–25 LSU Tigers women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Mjracle Sheppard 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) So Montverde Academy Mississippi State Kent, WA F 2 Amani Bartlett 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sr Houston Christian HS Cleveland, TX G 4 Flau'jae Johnson 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Sprayberry HS Savannah, GA F 5 Sa'Myah Smith 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) RS So DeSoto HS DeSoto, TX G/F 8 Jersey Wolfenbarger 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Jr Northside HS Arkansas Fort Smith, AR G 12 Mikaylah Williams 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Parkway HS Bossier City, LA G 13 Last-Tear Poa 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Sr UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra Northwest Florida State College Melbourne, Australia G 14 Izzy Besselman 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Episcopal School Baton Rouge, LA G 16 Kailyn Gilbert 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr IMG Academy Arizona Tampa Bay, FL C 23 Aalyah Del Rosario 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) So The Webb School The Bronx, NY G 24 Aneesah Morrow 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr Simeon Career Academy DePaul Chicago, IL G 30 Jada Richard 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Lafayette Christian Academy Lafayette, LA G 50 Shayeann Day-Wilson 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Jr Royal Crown Miami Toronto, ON	Head coach Kim Mulkey (Louisiana Tech) Assistant coach(es) Bob Starkey Daphne Mitchell (Georgia Tech) Gary Redus II (South Alabama) Kaylin Rice (Baylor) Joe Schwartz (Texas) Seimone Augustus (LSU) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

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.

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.

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 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, 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.

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.

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]

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

Year	Coach	Record
2003–04	Sue Gunter	27–7
2004–05	Pokey Chatman	33–3
2005–06	Pokey Chatman	31–4
2006–07	Pokey Chatman	30–8
2007–08	Van Chancellor	31–6
2022–23	Kim Mulkey	32–2
Total Final Fours: 6

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

Year	Conference	Coach	Overall Record	Conference Record
1990–91	SEC tournament	Sue Gunter	24–7	5–4
2002–03	SEC tournament	Sue Gunter	30–4	11–3
2004–05	SEC	Pokey Chatman	33–3	14–0
2005–06	SEC	Pokey Chatman	31–4	13–1
2007–08	SEC	Van Chancellor	31–6	14–0
Total conference championships: 5

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason	Coaches' poll	AP poll
Jinks Coleman (Independent) (1975–1979)
1975–76	Jinks Coleman	17–14	–		AIAW Regional
1976–77	Jinks Coleman	29–8	–		AIAW Second Place		11
1977–78	Jinks Coleman	37–3	–		AIAW Regional		10
1978–79	Jinks Coleman	8–7	–
Jinks Coleman:		91–32	–
Barbara Swanner (Independent, SEC) (1979–1982)
1979	Barbara Swanner	5–5	–		AIAW Regional
1979–80	Barbara Swanner	17–17	–		AIAW Regional
1980–81	Barbara Swanner	17–15	–		AIAW Regional
1981–82	Barbara Swanner	18–13	–
Barbara Swanner:		57–50	–
Sue Gunter (SEC) (1982–2004)
1982–83	Sue Gunter	20–7	6–2	T-1st (SEC West)			20
1983–84	Sue Gunter	23–7	5–3	T-2nd (SEC West)	NCAA Sweet Sixteen		8
1984–85	Sue Gunter	20–9	4–4	3rd (SEC West)	NWIT Champions
1985–86	Sue Gunter	27–6	6–3	T-2nd	NCAA Elite Eight	8	9
1986–87	Sue Gunter	20–8	6–3	T-4th	NCAA Second Round (Bye)	19	14
1987–88	Sue Gunter	18–11	6–3	3rd	NCAA First Round
1988–89	Sue Gunter	19–11	5–4	T-4th	NCAA Sweet Sixteen	14
1989–90	Sue Gunter	21–9	4–5	T-6th	NCAA First Round		23
1990–91	Sue Gunter	24–7	5–4	4th#	NCAA Second Round (Bye)	18	8
1991–92	Sue Gunter	16–13	4–7	T-7th
1992–93	Sue Gunter	9–18	0–11	12th
1993–94	Sue Gunter	11–16	2–9	T-10th
1994–95	Sue Gunter	7–20	1–10	T-10th
1995–96	Sue Gunter	21–11	4–7	T-8th	NWIT Third Place
1996–97	Sue Gunter	25–5	9–3	T-3rd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen	12	9
1997–98	Sue Gunter	19–13	7–7	T-6th	WNIT Semifinals
1998–99	Sue Gunter	22–8	10–4	2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen	21	21
1999–2000	Sue Gunter	25–7	11–3	3rd	NCAA Elite Eight	8	15
2000–01	Sue Gunter	20–11	8–6	T-4th	NCAA Second Round	20	18
2001–02	Sue Gunter	18–12	8–6	T-4th	NCAA Second Round	22	22
2002–03	Sue Gunter	30–4	11–3	2nd#	NCAA Elite Eight	5	3
2003–04	Sue Gunter	27–7	10–4	2nd	NCAA Final Four	3	19
Sue Gunter:		442–220	132–111
Pokey Chatman (SEC) (2004–2007)
2004–05	Pokey Chatman	33–3	14–0	1st	NCAA Final Four	3	2
2005–06	Pokey Chatman	31–4	13–1	1st	NCAA Final Four	4	5
2006–07	Pokey Chatman	30–8	10–4	T-3rd	NCAA Final Four	4	12
Pokey Chatman:		94–15	37–5
Van Chancellor (SEC) (2007–2011)
2007–08	Van Chancellor	31–6	14–0	1st	NCAA Final Four	4	6
2008–09	Van Chancellor	19–11	10–4	T-2nd	NCAA Second Round
2009–10	Van Chancellor	21–10	9–7	T-3rd	NCAA Second Round	25	21
2010–11	Van Chancellor	19–13	8–8	T-5th
Van Chancellor:		90–40	41–19
Nikki Fargas (SEC) (2011–2021)
2011–12	Nikki Caldwell	23–11	10–6	T-4th	NCAA Second Round
2012–13	Nikki Caldwell	22–12	10–6	6th	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2013–14	Nikki Fargas	21–13	7–9	T-6th	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2014–15	Nikki Fargas	17–14	10–6	T-4th	NCAA First Round
2015–16	Nikki Fargas	10–21	3–13	13th
2016–17	Nikki Fargas	20–12	8–8	7th	NCAA First Round
2017–18	Nikki Fargas	18–7	10–4	3rd	NCAA First Round	24
2018–19	Nikki Fargas	16–13	7–9	6th	Turned down NIT Bid
2019–20	Nikki Fargas	20–10	9-7	7th	Tournament Cancelled Due to Covid-19
2020–21	Nikki Fargas	9–13	6–8	8th
Nikki Fargas:		176–126	80–76
Kim Mulkey (SEC) (2021–present)
2021–22	Kim Mulkey	26–6	13–3	2nd	NCAA Second Round
2022–23	Kim Mulkey	34–2	15–1	2nd	NCAA National Champions	9	1
2023–24	Kim Mulkey	31–6	13-3	2nd	NCAA Elite Eight	11	13
Kim Mulkey:		91–14	37–7
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]

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
Seeds	5	2	4	9	4	9	2	4	4	3	6	6	1	4	1	1	3	2	6	7	5	6	7	11	8	6	3	3	3

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1984	#5	First Round Sweet Sixteen	#4 Missouri #1 Louisiana Tech	W 92-82 L 67-92
1986	#2	Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	#10 Middle Tenn #3 Ohio State #4 Tennessee	W 78-65 W 81-80 L 65-67
1987	#4	Second Round	#5 Southern Illinois	L 56-70
1988	#9	First Round	#8 Stephen F. Austin	L 62-84
1989	#4	Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#5 Purdue #1 Louisiana Tech	W 54-53 L 68-85
1990	#9	First Round	#8 Southern Miss	L 65-75
1991	#2	First Round	#10 Lamar	L 73-93
1997	#4	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#13 Maine #12 Marquette #1 Old Dominion	W 88-79 W 71-58 L 49-62
1999	#4	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#13 Evansville #5 Notre Dame #1 Louisiana Tech	W 78-69 W 74-64 L 52-73
2000	#3	First 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	#6	First Round Second Round	#11 Arizona State #3 Purdue	W 83-66 L 70-73
2002	#6	First Round Second Round	#11 Santa Clara #3 Colorado	W 84-78 L 58-69
2003	#1	First 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	#4	First 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	#1	First 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	#1	First 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	#3	First 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	#2	First 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	#6	First Round Second Round	#11 Green Bay #3 Louisville	W 69-59 L 52-62
2010	#7	First Round Second Round	#10 Hartford #2 Duke	W 60-39 L 52-60
2012	#5	First Round Second Round	#12 San Diego State #4 Penn State	W 64-56 L 80-90
2013	#6	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#11 Green Bay #3 Penn State #2 California	W 75-71 W 71-66 L 63-73
2014	#7	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#10 Georgia Tech #2 West Virginia #3 Louisville	W 98-78 W 76-67 L 47-73
2015	#11	First Round	#6 South Florida	L 64-73
2017	#8	First Round	#9 California	L 52-55
2018	#6	First Round	#11 Central Michigan	L 69-78
2022	#3	First Round Second Round	#14 Jackson State #6 Ohio State	W 83–77 L 64–79
2023	#3	First 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	#3	First 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

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

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

• Player of the Year Award

Seimone Augustus - 2005, 2006

Sylvia Fowles - 2008

Angel Reese - 2024

No.	Member	Position	Career	Year No. Retired
33	Seimone Augustus	SG	2002–2006	2010
34	Sylvia Fowles	C	2004–2008	2017

Player	Position	Year(s)
Angel Reese	F	2023, 2023 (Most Outstanding Player of the NCAAW Tournament, National Champion)
Seimone Augustus	G	2004, 2005 (National Player of the Year), 2006 (National Player of the Year)
Pokey Chatman	G	1991
Marie Ferdinand	G	2001
Sylvia Fowles	C	2007, 2008
Julie Gross	F	1978
Joyce Walker	G	1983, 1984

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]

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]

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]

Name	Years	Record	Pct.
Jinks Coleman	1975–1979	91–32	(.740)
Barbara Swanner	1979–1982	57–50	(.533)
Sue Gunter	1982–2004	442–221	(.667)
Pokey Chatman	2004–2007	90–14	(.865)
Bob Starkey (interim)	2007	4–1	(.800)
Van Chancellor	2007–2011	90–40	(.692)
Nikki Fargas	2011–2021	148–106	(.583)
Kim Mulkey	2021–present	91–14	(.867)

• Official website