LSU is headed to its first Elite Eight in 15 seasons, and forward Angel Reese is a huge reason why. Her run in the NCAA Tournament through three games is unlike any we’ve witnessed in a three-game stretch in any major American organized basketball league.
Per OptaStats, no NBA, WNBA player, nor any other Division I men’s or women’s basketball player has averaged 25.3 points, 17 rebounds, four blocks and 2.3 steals per game in any three-game span over the past 20 years other than Reese.
Every bit of her unparalleled effort was needed against second-seeded Utah in the Sweet 16. Reese had 17 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and a steal against the Utes but fouled out with four seconds remaining. Jenna Johnson missed two free throws that would have put Utah up one, and then LSU’s Alexis Morris hit two of her own to put a cap on the scoring in the 66-63 Tigers win.
The win was LSU’s first in an NCAA Tournament regional semifinal since 2008 in what was the final season of a five-year run of Final Four appearances.
Those teams were led by Tigers basketball greats Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles, but Reese is carving out a spot of her own next to them with her remarkable run.
Her historic pace through three NCAA Tournament games shouldn’t come as a total shock. This season, she set LSU women’s basketball records by averaging 23.8 points and 15.7 rebounds per game. She passed Augustus for points per game (22.7) in a season and Fowles in rebounds per game (12.6).
The Tigers play nine-seed Miami (FL) in the next round for a chance to return to the Final Four. As much success as the program had during the mid-2000s, it never made it past the national semifinal.
Reese has already done things no one else has at LSU, and her most recent run is unlike anything we’ve seen in two decades among any basketball player. Her season unlike any other means the Tigers can still go places they’ve never been, either.
