BENTON, La (KMSS/KTAL) – The last time the LSU Women’s Basketball team found themselves in the Final Four, the senior class at LSU was in the first grade.

Included in that senior class is former Benton standout Emily Ward.

Ward is the only Tiger who has spent four years in Baton Rouge. She was voted a captain this season along with Angel Reese. The former Benton star has gone from walk-on to scholarship athlete for the Tigers in what her mother and high school coach Mary Ward can only describe as a storybook.

“Just the chance to play under Kim Mulkey is unbelievable, and and to do it in the state of Louisiana at LSU just it’s just amazing. I don’t think it can get any better than that,” Ward said.

With the Final Four taking place in nearby Dallas, Ward added “Our family’s already got tickets were already there!”

Emily Ward and the Tigers will face Virginia Tech in the final four. The winner of that game will face either Iowa or South Carolina in the national championship game.