LSU vs. Virginia Tech final score, results: 4th-quarter run sends Tigers to first national championship game

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Sara Tidwell
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Angel Reese
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LSU made program history Friday night with its 79-72 victory over Virginia Tech in the Final Four. The Tigers, led by transfer Angel Reese and fifth-year standout Alexis Morris, are headed to their first national championship game.

Tigers coach Kim Mulkey needed just two seasons to turn the ship around in Baton Rouge. LSU's last Final Four appearance before this year was in 2008.

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The Tigers used a big fourth quarter to rally past the Hokies. LSU outscored Virginia Tech 29-13 in the period to erase a nine-point deficit.

The past three decades of NCAA Women's Tournaments have seen powerhouses like UConn, Tennessee and Stanford regularly make Final Four appearances. That has changed this year, but the amount of star power in the national semifinals and finals remains high.

Reese, with 18 points and 12 rebounds, tied the NCAA record for most double-doubles in a season with 33. Virginia Tech's Georgia Amoore set a women's record for 3-pointers in a tournament, sinking four in the game to give her 23 overall.

LSU will play the winner of Friday's second semifinal between Iowa and South Carolina on Sunday in the national title game.

The Sporting News tracked live scoring updates and highlights for 1-seed Virginia Tech vs. 3-seed LSU in the NCAA Women's Tournament. Follow below for complete results from the Women's March Madness Final Four game.

MORE: Watch 2023 NCAA Women's Tournament games live on Sling TV

LSU vs. Virginia Tech score

  1 2 3 4 F
LSU 16 16 18 29 79
Virginia Tech 13 21 25 13 72

LSU vs. Virginia Tech live updates, highlights from 2023 Women's March Madness

(All times Eastern)

Final: LSU 79, Virginia Tech 72

9: p.m.: What. A. Game. LSU advances to their first national championship game thanks to the inside-out combo of Reese and Morris. Reese recorded another double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds to tie the Division I record at 33 and Morris added 27 points.

.@Reese10Angel 🤜🤛 @AlexisMorrisWBB

This @LSUwbkb duo leaving it all on the floor 😤 #WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/jynraeZMGV

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) April 1, 2023

9:06 p.m.: Virginia Tech uses up their last two timeouts back-to-back, still down eight to the Tigers with 22 seconds on the clock.

8:58 p.m.: LSU has never won a Final Four, gone 0-5 since their first appearance in 2004. Virginia Tech has never advanced past the Sweet 16. Both teams are on a historic run, with one about to end.

8:56 p.m.: Kitley bent down holding her nose as Virginia Tech heads into a timeout with 1:17 left on the clock. No blood seen on the broadcast.

8:51 p.m.: LSU returning the fire going on an 13-0 run now, Reese is an absolute juggernaut in the paint.

8:46 p.m.: Tigers make a comeback after Johnson steals from Traylor and lays one in. Poole adds another to make it 66-62. Their offense is feeding their defense and the energy is loud in Dallas.

8:39 p.m.: Reese adds another two and the Tigers are on a 7-0 run, closing the gap and trailing the Hokies by only two now.

8:38 p.m.: LSU opens the final quarter with a three and then a layup. They're not going down without a fight, fang, claw and all, that's for sure.

Third quarter: Virginia Tech 59, LSU 50

8:30 p.m.: Both teams have three women a piece scoring in double digits. For Virginia Tech: Amoore has 11, Traylor has 13 and Kitley has 16. For LSU: Williams and Reese have 14 each and Morris has 17.

8:27 p.m.: Williams gets a third-chance shot through the net, helping LSU go 5-for-7 in their last attempt, but Poole is called for a technical foul and Amoore goes to the line. Hokies lead is shrunk to five with two minutes left in the third quarter.

8:18 p.m.: Both teams are 16-for-36 from the field. Virginia Tech started the third quarter right where they left off. Amoore knocks from downtown and officially has hit more threes than any player in NCAA Women's Tournament history with 23.

Half: Virginia Tech 34, LSU 32

7:57 p.m.: The Hokies stretch their run to 11-0, while LSU goes on a 4:48 scoring drought. The Hokies pull ahead by two, led by Kitley with 12 points for their first lead of the night. Neither of these teams have been to the national championship before and the heat in the paint is sweltering, LSU with 24 to Virginia Tech's 10.

7:51 p.m.: Virginia Tech goes on a 7-0 run to close the gap as halftime comes around the corner.

7:44 p.m.: Morris sinks a jumper to up her total to 12 points, giving LSU the highest lead of the night at night points.

7:38 p.m.: Amoore missed her first four from downtown, but closed the first quarter and opened the second by sinking two and keeping the Tigers' lead within a mere one to four points.

7:34 p.m.: Hokies head coach Kenny Brooks texted star guard Amoore this morning and told her: "You're the best player on the floor, go prove it," according to espnW. Here's what he had to say about it:

First quarter: LSU 16, Virginia Tech 13

7:31 p.m.: Shot clock violation supposedly ends the first quarter when Kitley is slammed into. They add roughly one second back to the clock, nothing changes as Reese is denied. LSU leads into the second.

7:25 p.m.: LSU is the first to reach double digits as the first quarter comes to a close. They're led by Morris with six.

7:18 p.m.: The offensive rebounds have been plentiful in the first quarter, though so have the turnovers. LSU has managed to score eight points on Virginia Tech's four turnovers in six minutes.

7:11 p.m.: LSU wins the tipoff and knocks in a two right off the bat. An LSU cheerleader had to be boosted to get the ball unstuck from the top of the net on Virginia Tech's failed shot attempt in the first 33 seconds of the game. "We got a wedgie!"

7:05 p.m.: The starting lineups have been released.

For the Tigers:

  1. Flau'jae Johnson
  2. Alexis Morris
  3. Kateri Poole
  4. LaDazhia Williams
  5. Angel Reese

For the Hokies:

  1. Georgia Amoore
  2. Cayla King
  3. Kayana Traylor
  4. Taylor Soule
  5. Elizabeth Kitley

7:02 p.m.: A championship title on the line tonight. 

6:55 p.m.: LSU vs. Virginia Tech will be showcasing two of the top players in the league with Angel Reese and Elizabeth Kitley. Reese has 32 double-doubles on the season, one away from breaking the Division I record, while Kitley has 22 double-doubles. Here's their stats from the tournament alone:

MORE: Top 5 WNBA Draft prospects in Women's Final Four

6:44 p.m.: The Tigers and Hokies have arrived to the madness at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. This matchup is going to be a good one. BetMGM has LSU as the favorites at -1.5 and the over/under sits at 133.5.

6:36 p.m.: Kim Mulkey (see also: YaYa) is matching with her granddaughter Sage at tonight's matchup in a hot pink top with flowers on the sleeves. Adorable.

MORE: Social media reacts to LSU coach Kim Mulkey's outfit for Sweet 16 game

What channel is LSU vs. Virginia Tech on today?

  • TV channel: ESPN
  • Live stream: Sling TV, ESPN app

LSU vs. Virginia Tech will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. The game is also being live streamed through the ESPN app and Sling TV.

MORE: Watch 2023 NCAA Women's Tournament games live on Sling TV

LSU vs. Virginia Tech start time

  • Date: Friday, March 31
  • Time: 7 p.m. ET

The Final Four game between LSU and Virginia Tech will tip off at 7 p.m. ET from American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Women's March Madness schedule 2023

Final Four

Friday, March 31

Matchup Time (ET) TV
(3) LSU 79, (1) Virginia Tech 72 7 p.m. ESPN
(1) South Carolina vs. (2) Iowa 9:30 p.m. ESPN

National championship

Sunday, April 2

Matchup Time (ET) TV
(3) LSU vs. TBD 3:30 p.m. ABC
Author(s)
Sara Tidwell Photo
Sara Tidwell

Sara Tidwell is an editorial intern with The Sporting News.