Alexis Morris sends emotional goodbye to LSU fans
LSU senior guard Alexis Morris helped power the Tigers to their first-ever national championship and got her moment in the sun in the national championship celebration the program hosted on Wednesday.
In an emotional farewell, Morris addressed a large crowd.
“LSU, thank you,” Morris said. “I appreciate your love, your unwavering support and for believing in us. Yeah, give yourselves a hand. Give yourselves a hand.”
Morris paused as the large crowd in attendance whooped and hollered for her, applauding all her efforts.
“We couldn’t achieve this national championship without you all,” Morris said. “We couldn’t have did it. There’s no way, we couldn’t have did it. This is it for me. So I just want you all to know I love you all with all my heart and I appreciate you for welcoming me with open arms. Thank you, coach. Thank you, my teammates. Thank you, everyone. I love you all so much.”
Then Morris paused as the crowd rose to its feet, giving her a standing ovation.
“One more time,” Morris said, raising her arms and flexing her biceps to the crowd before handing over the microphone and walking off stage.
It was a heartfelt moment and a heartfelt speech from the senior leader of the national champions.
Morris was elite as a senior, finishing averaging 15.4 points, 4.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. She shot 32.9% from 3-point range.
She was also phenomenal down the stretch in the NCAA Tournament, bringing her best when the Tigers needed it the most. She scored 21 points in the Elite Eight against Miami, 27 points in the Final Four against Virginia Tech and 21 points in the national championship game against Iowa.
It’s a season few at LSU will ever forget.
Alexis Morris shows up big in title game
As noted above, Morris got hot down the stretch in the NCAA Tournament, including in the title game against Iowa, when she scored 21 points.
She said she was feeling it and knew at that point that LSU would win.
“I’ll be honest, when my mid-ranges start falling, I was like oh, yeah.” Morris said. “It’s nothing against my teammates, but I said, this is my time. I’m not going to let it slip out of my hands. We’re too close. I just smelled, I just tasted it at the time.”
Morris had 21 points and nine assists to go with two rebounds in the national championship game.
“Even when we were down by seven, I was like it’s not happening. That’s not me being cocky at all. That’s just me being — just knowing the moment, getting a feel for the game, and just being their senior leader and not letting my teammates down, Coach [Kim] Mulkey down. LSU, the fans who drove hours, flew out here, I was so determined not to let nobody down tonight.”
Mission accomplished.