LSU Women To Face Virginia Tech In SEC/ACC Challenge

BATON ROUGE – LSU will host Virginia Tech in a Final Four rematch on November 30 at 8 p.m. CT as a part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.

The Tigers and Hokies met last season in the Final Four as LSU came from behind in the fourth quarter to clinch a spot in the national championship game. The Tigers trailed by nine to start the fourth quarter but outscored the Hokies by 16 in the final quarter to claim LSU’s first national championship game berth. LSU defeated Iowa two days later for the national championship.

LSU will enter the season with multiple players returning from the program’s first ever national championship team along with a talented list of newcomers that include the nation’s No. 1 rated recruiting class and the top two players from this year’s transfer portal.

Forward Angel Reese headlines LSU’s returners as the defending Most Outstanding Player from the Final Four. She set the NCAA record with 34 double-doubles throughout the season as a dominant scorer and rebounder. Reese led the SEC in both scoring (23.0 ppg) and rebounding (15.4 rpg).

Guard Flau’jae Johnson is another returning starter for the Tigers who earned SEC Freshman of the Year. In her first year of college basketball, Johnson averaged 11.0 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game. Guard Kateri Poole started in LSU’s final five games throughout the championship run, bringing a defensive physicality to the court while having a knack to knock down big shots for the Tigers.

LSU will also bring back contributors like forward Sa’Myah Smith who was named to the SEC All-Freshman and guard Last-Tear Poa. Both Smith and Sa’Myah played critical and productive minutes off the bench in the national championship win over Iowa.

The Tigers top-rated incoming freshmen class is headlined by guard Mikaylah Williams who was named the 2023 Morgan Wooten National Player of the Year as the top high school player. Forward Aalyah Del Rosario, the nation’s No. 7 rated player, played in the McDonald’s All-American game with Williams and the Tigers also bring in freshmen guard Angelica Velez who was named Tennessee’s Division II-A Miss Basketball and guard Janae Kent.

LSU was active in the transfer portal, adding guard Hailey Van Lith and forward Aneesah Morrow who were ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings. Van Lith averaged 19.7 points, 4.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds last season, earning AP All-America honorable mention honors while leading Louisville to the Elite Eight. Van Lith and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark are the only two players in the country who averaged at least 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists throughout the year. Morrow was a lethal scorer (24.7 ppg) and rebounder (12.2 rpg) at DePaul. Her and Reese were the only two players in the country to rank inside the top 10 in the nation in both scoring and rebounding.

(Release via LSU Athletics)

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