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DALLAS — The best season in Virginia Tech women’s basketball history is over.
Third-seeded LSU erased a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit and beat the top-seeded Hokies 79-72 in the Final Four on Friday night at American Airlines Center.
Virginia Tech (31-5), which was playing in the Final Four for the first time in its history, saw its 15-game winning streak come to an end.
The Tigers (33-2) will face South Carolina or Iowa at 3:30 p.m. Sunday for the NCAA title.
LSU, which made the Final Four for the first time in 15 years, trailed 59-50 entering the fourth.
But the Tigers opened the fourth quarter on a 22-3 run to build a 72-62 cushion with 3:00 to go.
Tech shot just 20% (2 of 10) from the field in the fourth, while LSU shot 61.1% (11 of 18) in that quarter.
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Virginia Tech was 2 of 7 from 3-point range in the fourth.
Tech center Elizabeth Kitley had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the game.
Virginia Tech guard Kayana Traylor and Tech point guard Georgia Amoore each had 17 points.
Cayla King added 14 points for Tech. King and Amoore each made four 3-pointers.
Tech forward Taylor Soule, who played only 20 minutes because of foul trouble, had just four points.
First-team All-American forward Angel Reese had 24 points and 12 rebounds for LSU.
All-Southeastern Conference point guard Alexis Morris had 27 points for the Tigers.
LaDazhia Williams had 16 points for LSU.
The Hokies shot 40.4% from the field to LSU’s 47.1%.
Tech was 9 of 31 from 3-point range (29%), while LSU was 3 of 13 (23.1%).
Tech outrebounded LSU 38-36. LSU had 15 offensive rebounds to Tech’s 14.
LSU had 11 steals. Tech had 18 turnovers to LSU’s seven.
Down 32-23 with 4:45 left in the second quarter, the Hokies scored the final 11 points of the first half to take a 34-32 halftime lead. Traylor had seven points in the run (including a 3-pointer), with Kitley scoring the other four.
The Hokies opened the third quarter on a 14-5 run to extend the lead to 48-37 with 6:08 left in the third. Kitley had four points in the run. Tech made two 3-pointers in the run.
Virginia Tech scored the first five points of the third quarter, making for a 16-0 run that spanned the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third.
Soule was whistled for her third foul with 5:13 left in the third quarter and went to the bench. She was on the bench for the rest of the third.
Down 53-43 with 4:06 left in the third, LSU cut the lead to 55-50 with 2:35 left in the third. But Traylor scored the final four points of the quarter, enabling Tech to take a 59-50 lead into the fourth.
LSU opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 59-57 with 8:13 to go. Morris had five points in the run, with Reese scoring the other two.
Amoore sank a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 62-57 with 7:50 to go.
But LSU scored 15 straight points to grab a 72-62 lead. Reese had six points in the run, while SEC freshman of the year Flau’jae Johnson had four points in the run.
Tech had three turnovers and missed four 3-pointers during LSU’s 15-0 run.
The Hokies hurt themselves with poor shooting in the first quarter.
The Tigers led 12-6 with 3:58 left in the first quarter. Tech was just 1 of 9 from the field at that point, including 0 of 6 from 3-point range. Amoore was 0 of 5 from the field at that point.
Soule picked up her second foul and headed to the bench with 1:12 left in the first quarter. She remained on the bench for the rest of the half.
LSU led 16-13 after the first quarter. Tech shot only 25% from the field in that quarter. Tech was 1 of 9 from 3-point range in that quarter. The Hokies had seven turnovers in that quarter.
Down 20-13 with 9:03 left in the second quarter, Tech went on an 8-1 run to cut the lead to 22-21 with 7:30 left in the second quarter.
LSU answered with a 10-2 run to build a 32-23 lead with 4:45 to go in the quarter. But Tech closed the quarter with its 11-0 run.
The Hokies shot 56.3% from the field in the second quarter.
