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The unlikely star behind LSU’s unlikely NCAA championship run

LSU’s Jasmine Carson celebrates after hitting one of her five 3-pointers in the first half. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

DALLAS — It was a celebration dripping in sequins.

The party started when Flau’jae Johnson ran over to the sidelines and sent a message to coach Kim Mulkey.

“You’re the GOAT!” she yelled. Then again: “You’re the GOAT!” And again. As her freshman guard shouted, Mulkey’s face wrinkled as she tried to fight back the tears pooling into her eyes.

The seconds ticked down, and Johnson couldn’t contain her excitement any longer. She ran over to Mulkey and lifted the coach off the ground, spinning her in a bear hug. Her purple uniform melded with Mulkey’s sequined, tiger-striped suit to create one blur of joy.

A season that started with criticism about a weak schedule ended in celebration on the ultimate stage. With their 102-85 win over superstar Caitlin Clark and Iowa on Sunday, the LSU Tigers were crowned national champions for the first time in program history.

Achieving that feat seemed unlikely at first, and unlikely still when the Tigers were blown out by South Carolina in the regular season, and when they lost to Tennessee in the SEC tournament.

Unlikely to outsiders, but predetermined to those within the program. Angel Reese has been talking about this since she transferred to LSU last spring. So has Kateri Poole, the friend who convinced Reese to make the campus visit when LSU wasn’t even on her radar.

“This is why I came to LSU,” Poole said after the game, with confetti swirling at her feet and her mother looking on with pure adoration in her eyes. An onlooker told Poole’s mom that she had confetti stuck in her hair; “I don’t care,” she replied with a grin.

In the background, Reese took photos with her brother, Julian. She took phones from spectators and recorded videos for them. And of course, she posed with her tiara, something that has become a staple for LSU celebrations this season.

Since the beginning of the season, the Tigers have pretended to crown Reese when she makes an exciting play or has a big game. At one point, they traded out the gesture for a real tiara. Reese, the queen of the tournament and the Final Four Most Outstanding Player, finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Alexis Morris finished with 21 points, 19 of which came in the second half, and LaDazhia Williams had 20.

None of them, however, was LSU’s leading scorer. That came from an unlikely source — but like the title itself, only unlikely to those outside the program. Inside the Tigers’ locker room, graduate transfer Jasmine Carson is a known scorer.

“Jasmine may be the second best pure shooter that I’ve ever coached in my career,” Mulkey said. “She can just light it up.”

Carson finished with 22 points, and the Tigers needed every single one of them.

The first half was laden with whistles, and Reese spent significant time on the bench in early foul trouble. Morris also picked up two quick fouls and went into halftime with just two points. Mulkey went to her bench, and suddenly it was Carson’s moment, one the Tigers knew was coming.

Emily Ward, a senior walk-on, noticed that Carson was hot in warm-ups.

“I went up to her and I was like, ‘OK Jas, you’re going to have a big game,’” Ward said. “None of us were shocked that she was doing that. She hits them all the time in practice.”

Carson scored 21 of her 22 points in the first half, going a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and 5-for-5 from the 3-point line during the stretch. Everyone on the LSU bench celebrated. And in a concert hall in Atlanta, so did Carson’s high school coach.

Phyllis Arthur’s boyfriend surprised her with tickets to a jazz concert a few days ago, not realizing the national championship game was the same day. But she wasn’t going to miss Carson’s biggest game at LSU, so as they waited for the opening act to go on, Arthur watched the Tigers on her phone.

Every time Carson hit a shot, Arthur jumped out of her seat.

Arthur has coached girls basketball at McEachern High School for 17 years. There, she coached Carson and coached against Flau’jae Johnson, so Arthur was thrilled for both players on Sunday.

Thrilled, but not surprised.

“That’s the Jasmine I know,” she said on a phone call during intermission of the concert. “I love her shot. And when she’s on, she’s on. And she was on tonight. Thank god.”

Carson is one of several LSU transfer portal success stories. She started her career at Georgia Tech before transferring to West Virginia for two seasons and closing out her fifth year with the Tigers, averaging 8.4 points per game this season.

Carson started throughout the regular season, but when the NCAA Tournament began, Mulkey opted to bring her off the bench in favor of having bigger bodies on the court.

Still, Carson stayed ready.

So ready that she didn’t need her usual pregame routine. Morris and Carson typically get up extra shots together in warm-ups, but today, when Morris asked her if she wanted to, Carson said no.

“I’m good,” she said.

And she was. She was really, really good. She was 22 points good. She was five made 3-pointers good. She was national champion good.

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Carson came off the bench to go a perfect 7-for-7 from the field in the first half. (Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

After the game, when Mulkey shuffled through the confetti barefoot, and Reese climbed a ladder to cut her piece of the net, and Johnson danced with her championship hat on her head, and Arthur cheered among a crowd of jazz fans, they all had Carson to thank.

“I didn’t have nothing to lose,” Carson said. “This was my last game of my college career, and I ended it the right way.”

She ended it as a national champion.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

WNBA, Players Union Spar Over CBA Negotiations at All-Star Weekend

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks to media at a 2025 press conference.
The current CBA between the WNBPA and the league expires at the end of October. (Mike Lawrence/NBAE via Getty Images)

This year's All-Star action extends beyond the court, as more than 40 players — including All-Stars, executive committee members, and WNBPA representatives — met with the WNBA in Indianapolis on Thursday for the second CBA negotiations of 2025.

"I'm encouraged. I'm just so inspired by the amount of players that showed up, the engagement that was there," WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said after Thursday's session, which drew the largest turnout in union history.

"It was something that was very informative for me. First time being able to see and hear the wording from both sides," Chicago Sky star Angel Reese added. "I was really eager to know and understand what was going on."

With revenues booming, both players and the league are struggling to settle issues surrounding payouts, revenue sharing, and the salary caps ahead of the current CBA's October 31st expiration date.

"This business is booming — media rights, ratings, revenue, team valuations, expansion fees, attendance, and ticket sales — are all up in historic fashion," the WNBPA wrote in a statement following Thursday's meeting. "But short-changing the working women who make this business possible stalls growth. The only thing more unsustainable than the current system is pretending it can go on forever."

While CBA negotiations continue, the union indicated that players are open to a work stoppage should they fail to reach a new deal by the end of this WNBA season.

Rookies Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen Hit the 2025 WNBA All-Star Court

Washington Mystics rookie All-Stars Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen chat during a 2025 WNBA game.
Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen will play in their first WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday. (Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images)

Team Clark has youth on their side this weekend, with Mystics rookie Sonia Citron gearing up to hit Saturday's 2025 WNBA All-Star court alongside Washington teammate and fellow 2025 draft pick Kiki Iriafen.

"I was not expecting this at all," Citron told WNBA legend Lisa Leslie on Between the Lines last week, referencing her surprise All-Star call-up. "I'm still in shock. I don't really think it's hit me yet."

"We're young, we've got a bunch of shooters, a little bit of everything" she said of Team Clark's lineup.

Saturday's game isn't Citron's only assignment this weekend, with the All-Star debutant also set to compete in Friday's 3-Point Contest.

The Mystics are on the rise this year, exceeding season expectations behind first-year firepower to send three players in Citron, Iriafen, and Washington's scoring leader Brittney Sykes to the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game.

Citron is currently averaging five rebounds and 14 points per game — trailing only Sykes's 17 points per game on Washington's stat sheet. Her rookie campaign has her shooting 45% from the field and 36.5% from beyond the arc.

Fellow first-year Iriafen is also impressing, leading the Mystics with 8.5 rebounds per game as well as sinking nearly 12 points per game while shooting 46% from the field.

"[The rookies] have really played a key piece in our success this season with us being so young, but also them being so adaptable," second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards told Leslie in an earlier episode. "And they're runners for Rookie of the Year, so why not only have one when you can have two? I'm just loving it."

How to attend a live taping of "Between the Lines"

Just Women's Sports is taking over Indianapolis with multi-faceted activations for the 2025 WNBA All-Star weekend — including a live recording of Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie.

Featuring interviews with Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream), Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever), and Lexie Hull (Indiana Fever), the exclusive podcast taping will occur at 110 S Pennsylvania Street at 3 PM ET on Saturday.

Sabrina Ionescu, Allisha Gray Headline WNBA All-Star 3-Point Contest

New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu lines up a shot during the 2023 WNBA All-Star 3-Point Contest.
WNBA All-Star Sabrina Ionescu set the single-round 3-Point Contest record in 2023. (David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)

Even with Indiana Fever sharpshooter Caitlin Clark sidelined, Friday's 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge will heat up the Indianapolis competition before Saturday's 2025 WNBA All-Star Game tips off.

Single-round record holder Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty) and reigning champion Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream) headline the 3-Point Contest, with Kelsey Plum (LA Sparks), Sonia Citron (Washington Mystics), and Clark-replacement Lexie Hull (Indiana Fever) rounding out the bill beyond the arc.

Gray will also be on hand to defend her 2024 Skills Challenge title, with Natasha Cloud (New York Liberty), Skylar Diggins (Seattle Storm), Erica Wheeler (Seattle Storm), and Courtney Williams (Minnesota Lynx) looking to upend the Dream guard.

Players are shooting for more than just bragging rights in the Friday competitions, with Aflac boosting prize money for the second year in a row.

The insurance giant will award $60,000 to the 3-point Contest winner and $55,000 to the Skills Challenge champ, topping off the league's $2,575-per-player All-Star bonus check.

With big money on the line, both Gray and Ionescu are battling to become just the second WNBA player to win multiple 3-Point Contests, following in the footsteps of retired Sky guard and four-time event champion Allie Quigley.

How to watch the All-Star 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge

The 2025 WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest will take the Indianapolis court at 8 PM ET on Friday, with both competitions airing live on ESPN.

Minnesota Lynx-Fueled Team Collier Readies for WNBA All-Star Game

Minnesota Lynx All-Stars Courtney Williams and Napheesa Collier celebrate a 2025 WNBA regular-season win.
2025 WNBA All-Star captain Napheesa Collier will play alongside her Lynx teammate, Courtney Williams. (Matt Krohn/Getty Images)

Team Collier is looking locked and loaded for Saturday's 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, with captain Napheesa Collier heading up a roster stocked with talent from the league-leading Minnesota lineup.

The Lynx star will start the game alongside 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), and rookie phenom Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings).

Team Collier's bench showcases a balanced group of Courtney Williams (Minnesota Lynx), Skylar Diggins (Seattle Storm), Angel Reese (Chicago Sky), Alyssa Thomas (Phoenix Mercury), and Kelsey Plum (LA Sparks).

Kayla McBride (Minnesota Lynx) will also join the squad, replacing the injured Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream), boosting the team's Minnesota contingent to three players.

Adding to the Lynx representatives is Minnesota manager Cheryl Reeve, who will serve as the squad's head coach following a first-of-its-kind draft-day swap between the Collier and fellow All-Star captain Caitlin Clark.

"I'm just glad people are understanding Phee's greatness," Reeve said about Collier before the 2025 WNBA All-Star weekend. "There's nothing else you can say at this point."

With a steady front and backcourt presence, Team Collier has experience on their side as they take on a youth-heavy Team Clark on Saturday.

How to watch Team Collier at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game

Team Collier and Team Clark will square off in the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis at 8:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Live coverage of the game will air on ABC.

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