As Kim Mulkey's LSU Tigers claim women's basketball throne, long may they reign | Toppmeyer

When Kim Mulkey vowed to hang national championship banners at LSU, only those with their heads submerged in the bayou would have been foolish enough to disbelieve her.

It’s sometimes difficult to project how a new coach will fare. Not this hire.

This coach, at this school, with this grand stage, was certain to thrive.

If there’s any surprise, it’s only that it happened this soon.

Mulkey took the reins of a nine-win team and transformed LSU into national champions in two years. She turned women’s basketball into a hot ticket in Baton Rouge and gave fans a product worth watching by assembling a bevy of talented and assertive transfers.

The array of personalities blended together to form a super team that delivered a crowning performance Sunday in a 102-85 win over Iowa in the national championship game in Dallas.

Third-seeded LSU (34-2) joined 1994 North Carolina and '97 Tennessee as the lowest-seeded teams to win the national championship.

“I’m so happy for everybody back home in Louisiana,” said Mulkey, who won Louisianans' hearts as a championship-winning standout point guard at Louisiana Tech, then rekindled those feelings after she returned to her home state to revitalize a program that had slipped into a coma.

The scary part for LSU’s competition? The Bayou Bengals are women's basketball's new queens, and, long, may they reign. This program, with this coach, will be tough to dethrone.

Mulkey signed the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class, and superstar Angel Reese will return for her junior season. Transfers will continue to view LSU as a marquee destination. Not only can you win big with this coach: You can earn big at LSU, too.

Reese, one of four LSU transfers who scored at least 15 points Sunday, became the “Bayou Barbie” in her new digs, an NIL maven in purple and gold.

The cast Mulkey assembled united behind a common goal to silence naysayers and win LSU’s first national championship in basketball, either men’s or women’s.

“I think a lot of these personalities, coaches want to be scared of. I’m not afraid of that. I played with personalities in college. I played with a personality myself,” Mulkey told ESPN after the game, while she shimmered in a sparkly gold, pink and black striped suit.

“They just are ballers.”

They balled out Sunday, winning with a flourish befitting their flamboyant coach.

Elite shooting, brilliant passing, gorgeous cuts and unflinching drives were on display for 40 minutes in Dallas, a worthy culmination of a thrilling NCAA Tournament.

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For the sport’s longtime audience, this was vindication that the product is worth your attention. New eyeballs were treated to Caitlin Clark’s deep 3-pointers for Iowa, Alexis Morris’ clutch midrange jumpers and LSU’s supporting cast delivering a herculean performance throughout the second quarter, while Reese and Morris were sidelined with foul trouble.

A whistle-happy officiating crew became the only eyesore in this absolute treat of a game. Both teams’ stars delivered, and Clark poured in 30 points en route to breaking the NCAA Tournament scoring record. But, LSU’s sidekicks catapulted the Tigers to the peak.

LaDazhia Williams was a beast, and Jasmine Carson became the unlikely hero when she caught fire during the first half. Carson had totaled 11 points in the tournament’s first five games. You wouldn’t have known that Sunday. Carson made all seven of her first-half jumpers, including five 3s. She capped her barrage with an improbable fling that bounced off the backboard and through the net as the halftime buzzer sounded.

Iowa coach Lisa Bluder could only look on, arms crossed, in disbelief.

The Hawkeyes had toppled previously undefeated South Carolina in the semifinals by packing the paint and daring the Gamecocks to make perimeter jumpers. The Tigers hit the shots the Gamecocks couldn’t.

Ordinarily, the 3-pointer is not LSU's linchpin, but Mulkey encouraged her squad to embrace open looks. They hit them, whether open or guarded. LSU’s 11 triples on 17 attempts tied its season high.

Mulkey’s four national championships trail only Geno Auriemma (11) and Pat Summitt (8). She’s earned her place on the Mount Rushmore of college women’s basketball coaches.

Mulkey considered coaching in her home state years ago. A longtime assistant at her alma mater, she was an obvious candidate to replace Leon Barmore when he announced his retirement in 2000. But, Mulkey and Louisiana Tech's president couldn’t agree on contract length. She withdrew from consideration and became Baylor’s coach.

Louisiana Tech receded from prominence, while Mulkey turned a Baylor program with no pedigree into a force that won three national championships.

This title, though, had to hit differently for the coach from Tickfaw, Louisiana.

In the closing minute, Mulkey kneeled, bowed her head and teared up before accepting a hug from Kateri Poole, one of her transfer additions. On the court, Reese reveled in the moment and pointed to her ring finger.

After LSU advanced to the Final Four, Reese proclaimed: “Kim Mulkey does that!”

She did it at warp speed.

In two seasons, Mulkey took the Tigers to the top. They look awfully formidable on that throne.

Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC Columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Now that Kim Mulkey and LSU Tigers are on top, they may reign for a while