LSU players explain second-half surge to win Final Four showdown vs. Virginia Tech

Trust and belief. That’s what LSU players pointed to for enabling a come-from-behind win over Virginia Tech in the Final Four, sending the Tigers to the national championship game.

LSU trailed 51-39 early in the second half but found a way to dig deep and battle back.

“We had to play defense,” forward Angel Reese said in a postgame interview following a 79-72 win. “We had to come together and believe in each other and play defense. The game wasn’t over. We had been in situations like this before, so just trust in the coaches and listening to each other.”

LSU did just that, led by its stars.

Reese chipped in 24 points in the game on 11-of-19 shooting to provide a punch in the frontcourt, while the Tigers got a dynamic performance from guard Alexis Morris in the backcourt in the Final Four win.

Morris led all scorers in the game by scoring 27 points on 11-of-27 shooting from the floor. She hit two 3-pointers in the contest.

And it was her energy that helped break the Tigers out of their funk midway through the second half.

“I’m a senior, man, and I’ve got to be the glue for this team,” Morris told ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the game. “Offensively, defensively, I know my team needed a spark so I had to trust in myself and my teammates and my coaches. And that’s why we’re competing for the national championship on Sunday, baby.”

After a run of five straight Final Four appearances in the mid-2000s, LSU is now back in a big way. This will be the first-ever national championship appearance for the Tigers.

With its Final Four win out of the way, LSU will now await its opponent. South Carolina and Iowa will meet in the nightcap on Friday night.

The national championship game will be played on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The game will be broadcast on ABC.