April 2, 2023 | Written By Kevin Magee

Photo by Kevin Magee/Nivek Sports.

DALLAS - Kim Mulkey returned home to Louisiana wanting to bring LSU its first basketball championship. The Hall of Fame coach did just that in only her second year at the school.Her Tigers used a record offensive performance to beat Caitlin Clark and Iowa 102-85 on Sunday and win the first basketball title, men's or women's, in school history.

"I turn around and look at the Final Four banners (in the home arena), nowhere did it say national champion," Mulkey said. "That's what I came home to do."The victory made Mulkey the first women's coach to win national titles at two different schools. She won three at Baylor before leaving for LSU two years ago.

"Coaches coach a lifetime and this is the fourth time I've been blessed," Mulkey said. "Never in the history of LSU basketball, men or women, has (anybody) ever played for a championship."

Photo by Kevin Magee/Nivek Sports.

The 102 points broke the previous high for a championship game, surpassing the 97 that Texas scored against Southern California in 1986.

"So much for preaching defense and rebounding," Mulkey said, laughing.

Taking in the game was first lady Jill Biden, who sat in a suite above the court with tennis great Billie Jean King.

Mulkey said she hadn't met the first lady yet but told the AP that if the team was invited to the White House, she'd go.

Jasmine Carson scored 22 points, Alexis Morris added 21 and Angel Reese had 15 points and 10 rebounds for LSU (34-2).

The Hawkeyes (31-7) trailed 73-64 with 1:03 left in the third quarter when Clark was called for a technical foul. She swatted the ball away on the floor after a foul call against a teammate. That counted as a personal foul for her, her fourth of the game.

"I thought they called it very, very tight," Clark said. "Hit with a technical foul for throwing the ball under the basket — sometimes that's how things go."

Clark played the entire fourth quarter with four fouls but couldn't get the Hawkeyes much closer.

"They really played well, they were ready to go. They did a great job. I'm just so proud of my team," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. "This is brutal, it's really tough to walk out of that locker room today and not be able to coach Monika (Czinano) and McKenna (Warnock) again. I'm very thankful for the season we had and don't want to take anything away from that." After Katari Poole hit a 3-pointer in front of the LSU bench, Mulkey started weeping.

"With about 1:30 to go, I couldn't hold it. I got very emotional," Mulkey said. "That's not like me, but I knew we would hold on and win this game. I don't what it was, but I lost it. Very emotional and tears of joy. Don't know if it's the mere fact that we're doing it in my second year back home or that I am back home."

A few seconds later after another LSU basket, Reese taunted Clark by putting her hand in front of her face with a "you can't see me" gesture and then pointed to her ring finger.