LSU wins 1st NCAA championship, defeating Caitlin Clark and Iowa

Kim Mulkey had tears of joy streaming down her face as she guided LSU to it first national championship.

Her Tigers used a record offensive performance to beat Caitlin Clark and Iowa 102-85 on Sunday and win the first basketball title in school history.

The victory made Mulkey the first women's coach to win national championships at two different schools. She won three at Baylor before leaving for LSU two years ago.

"Coaches coach a lifetime and this is the fourth time I've been blessed," Mulkey said. "Never in the history of LSU basketball, men or women, has [anybody] ever played for a championship."

The feisty and flamboyantly dressed Mulkey, who wore a sparkly, golden, tiger-striped outfit, now has the third-most titles of all time behind Geno Auriemma's 11 and Pat Summitt's eight. Mulkey has never lost in a championship game.

"My tears are tears of joy," she said. "I'm so happy for everybody back home in Louisiana."

That championship celebration hits different.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NationalChampionship?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NationalChampionship</a> x <a href="https://twitter.com/LSUwbkb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LSUwbkb</a> <a href="https://t.co/h29TM76YKJ">pic.twitter.com/h29TM76YKJ</a>

Clark, The Associated Press national player of the year, couldn't lead the Hawkeyes to their first national title despite one of the greatest individual performances in NCAA tournament history. The junior finished with 30 points. She scored 40 in the semifinals to knock out unbeaten South Carolina one game after she had the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA history in the Elite Eight.

The dazzling guard, who grew up in Iowa, set the NCAA record for most points in a tournament, passing the 177 that Sheryl