The only thing distracting from the up-and-down pace of the first quarter of Sunday’s national championship game between LSU and Iowa was the sound of the referees’ whistles. By halftime, there was not stealing the spotlight from the white-hot Tigers.
The referees called 12 fouls in the first quarter and 21 in the first half, with several key players getting into early foul trouble. But LSU’s elite shot-making stole the show in Dallas, as the Tigers opened up a 59-42 halftime lead behind a perfect first 20 minutes from guard Jasmine Carson.
Carson made all seven of her shot attempts—including five three-pointers—to lead all scorers with 21 points. She capped off her incredible performance by banking in a desperation three as time expired in the second quarter, capping a blistering first half for LSU.
