SLS 23RS-401 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 5
BY SENATORS MIZELL, BARROW, CLOUD, HEWITT AND JACKSON AND
REPRESENTATIVES BOYD, BUTLER, DAVIS, DUBUISSON,
EDMONSTON, EMERSON, FREEMAN, FREIBERG, HILFERTY,
HODGES, HORTON, LAFLEUR, LANDRY, MARCELLE, MOORE,
NEWELL, PHELPS, SCHLEGEL, THOMAS, VILLIO AND WHITE
COMMENDATIONS. Commends and congratulates the Louisiana State University Tigers
Womens Basketball team on winning their first NCAA Basketball Championship.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To commend and congratulate the Louisiana State University Tigers womens basketball
3 team on the occasion of winning the university's first NCAA basketball
4 championship.
5 WHEREAS, on April 2, 2023, in Dallas, Texas, the Louisiana State University (LSU)
6 womens basketball team defeated the University of Iowa Hawkeyes in dominating fashion
7 by a score of 102 to 85 to claim LSU's first NCAA basketball championship; and
8 WHEREAS, in Coach Kim Mulkey's second season at LSU and with only moderate
9 expectations, such as a preseason ranking of sixteen in the Associated Press writers' poll and
10 a predicted third-place finish in the SEC preseason media poll, the Tigers roared through the
11 season with only two losses en route to a number three seed in the NCAA Womens
12 Basketball Tournament; and
13 WHEREAS, the Tigers hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament
14 at the Maravich Assembly Center before raucous hometown crowds, defeating Hawaii
15 (73-50) and Michigan (66-42); and
16 WHEREAS, LSU moved on to the Sweet Sixteen in Greenville, South Carolina,
17 defeating Utah (66-63) and Miami (54-42) in the Elite Eight; and
18 WHEREAS, in the Final Four semi-finals in Dallas, LSU won a hard-fought victory
Page 1 of 4 SCR NO. 5
SLS 23RS-401 ORIGINAL
1 over number one seed Virginia Tech by a score of 79-72; and
2 WHEREAS, with the victory over Virginia Tech, the Tigers advanced to the national
3 championship game for the first time in school history to tangle with the Hawkeyes from
4 Iowa; and
5 WHEREAS, the Tigers' championship game victory on Sunday, April 2, 2023, was
6 the highest rated womens college basketball game in television history with an average of
7 9.9 million viewers, peaking at 12.6 million viewers; and
8 WHEREAS, many sports writers are calling the LSU-Iowa championship a
9 "game-changing" event in the history of womens college basketball; and
10 WHEREAS, the national champion Tigers consist of the following players:
11 (1) Sophomore forward Angel Reese from Baltimore, Maryland - All-Tournament
12 Team and Tournament Most Outstanding Player, AP First Team All-American, First Team
13 All-SEC, and SEC All-Defensive Team;
14 (2) Fifth-year senior guard Alexis Morris from Beaumont, Texas- All-Tournament
15 Team and First Team All-SEC;
16 (3) Graduate student guard Jasmine Carson from Memphis,
17 Tennessee-All-Tournament Team;
18 (4) Freshman guard Flau'jae Johnson from Savannah, Georgia - SEC Freshman of
19 the Year and SEC All Freshman Team;
20 (5) Freshman forward Sa'Myah Smith from DeSoto, Texas - SEC All Freshman
21 Team;
22 (6) Graduate student forward LaDazhia Williams from Bradenton, Florida;
23 (7) Senior forward Emily Ward from Bossier City, Louisiana;
24 (8) Sophomore forward Amani Bartlett from Cleveland, Texas;
25 (9) Sophomore guard Last-Tear Poa from Melbourne, Australia;
26 (10) Sophomore guard Kateri Poole from Bronx, New York;
27 (11) Freshman guard Izzy Besselman from Baton Rouge, Louisiana;
28 (12) Freshman forward Alisa Williams from Denton, Texas; and
29 WHEREAS, the national championship team was supported by a well-regarded and
30 highly-respected staff, including the following:
Page 2 of 4 SCR NO. 5
SLS 23RS-401 ORIGINAL
1 (1) Bob Starkey, associate head coach;
2 (2) Daphne Mitchell, assistant coach;
3 (3) Gary Redus II, assistant coach;
4 (4) Johnny Derrick, assistant athletic director and director of operations;
5 (5) Jennifer Roberts, director of player personnel and influence;
6 (6) Kaylin Rice, director of womens basketball recruiting;
7 (7) Chante' Crutchfield, assistant director for operations and recruiting;
8 (8) Joe Schwartz, assistant director for operations;
9 (9) Jordin Westbrook, director of operations and special assistant to head coach;
10 (10) Renee Braud, administrative coordinator;
11 (11) Thomas Lené, assistant strength and conditioning coach;
12 (12) Amanda Barbee, associate athletic trainer; and
13 WHEREAS, in 2021, Head Coach Kim Mulkey, a native of Tickfaw, Louisiana,
14 returned home to lead the Tigers as the most decorated, most honored womens college
15 player and coach in the history of the sport, with honors such as: four-time state champion
16 at Hammond High School; class valedictorian at Hammond High School; All-American
17 point guard at Louisiana Tech University (Tech); two-time national champion as a player
18 at Tech; summa cum laude graduate of Tech; winner of the inaugural Frances Pomeroy
19 Naismith Award; gold medalist at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela;
20 gold medalist at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, California; one national championship
21 as an assistant coach at Tech; three-time national champion as the head coach at Baylor
22 University; nine-time national coach of the year; Class of 1990 inductee into the Louisiana
23 Sports Hall of Fame; Class of 1992 inductee into the Louisiana Tech Athletic Hall of Fame;
24 Class of 2000 inductee into the Womens Basketball Hall of Fame as a player; Class of 2020
25 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach; and the only
26 person in college basketball history to win a national championship as a player, assistant
27 coach, and head coach; and
28 WHEREAS, the joy of this incredible season will live in the hearts of LSU fans
29 forever and the Tigers' dominance will set the new standard of excellence in the annals of
30 womens college basketball; and
Page 3 of 4 SCR NO. 5
SLS 23RS-401 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, local interest in the team set an all-time Maravich Assembly Center
2 attendance record for all events of 15,721 during the regular season; and
3 WHEREAS, the transcendent television ratings of the championship game may very
4 well be viewed as the game that "changed the game" for womens college basketball; and
5 WHEREAS, it is most appropriate to recognize and express enduring appreciation
6 for the immense pride and genuine honor that the 2022-2023 LSU Tigers womens basketball
7 team has brought to the state of Louisiana, the world of womens college basketball, and the
8 advancement of womens sports in general.
9 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
10 commend the Louisiana State University Tigers womens basketball team on winning the
11 2022-2023 NCAA national championship and does hereby recognize and congratulate the
12 team, the coaching and support staff, Head Coach Kim Mulkey, and the entire LSU family
13 on this momentous, transcendent, consequential, and historic achievement.
14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
15 Louisiana State University Athletic Director Scott Woodward.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Alan Miller.
DIGEST
SCR 5 Original 2023 Regular Session Mizell
Commends the LSU Tigers womens basketball team on the occasion of winning the
university's first NCAA basketball championship.
Page 4 of 4