Angel Reese won the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball championship at LSU with unheralded 5-foot-8 guard Kateri Poole. Reese, the 2023 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, grabbed the limelight, but Poole played a key role in the Tigers’ title run. Poole, who earned playing time because of her defense, drained two crucial 3-pointers to fend off the Caitlin Clark-led Iowa Hawkeyes.Via an Instagram story on Sunday, Reese greeted Poole, who celebrated her birthday:“Happy Birthday to my hearty since kidssss. Love you longtimeeeee. You helped change my life forever. We really won together.”Angel Reese sends heartfelt birthday message to former LSU teammate Kateri Poole on Instagram. [photo: @angelreese5/IG]Kateri Poole started her college basketball career with the Ohio Buckeyes in 2020. After two seasons, she left the school to join Angel Reese in Louisiana. In their first year together, the Tigers won the 2023 championship at the expense of Clark’s Hawkeyes.Poole was a key member of the bench mob. However, her defense made her stand out, forcing Tigers coach Kim Mulkey to start her in the team’s final five games of the NCAA Tournament. Poole seized the opportunity with key two-way plays. Her defense helped slow down Caitlin Clark. She also nailed two 3-pointers that ended the Hawkeyes’ hopes of turning the game around.Angel Reese is appreciative that Kateri Poole changed her life forever.Angel Reese’s former LSU teammate dismissed by coach Kim Mulkey during title repeat bidThe LSU Tigers’ defense of their NCAA championship got off to a rough start. Angel Reese’s close friend, Kateri Poole, also one of the heroes of the team’s 2023 title, was dismissed by coach Kim Mulkey.Poole played just four games for the Tigers before suiting up for the Houston Cougars for the 2025-26 season. After nearly two years of speculation, she revealed in 2024, via a TikTok video, the reason Mulkey cut her from the team:"Truthfully, [Mulkey] said that I sent in a scouting report to another school. I ain't do that sh*t. … I was like, 'What do we do now?' She said, 'You're kicked off.' I said, 'Boom, aight.' She said, 'No longer on the team.' I took it, asked if I could still play. She said 'Yep.' Scholarship, boom, was allowed to transfer. Now, I'm at Houston.”While Reese stars for the Chicago Sky in the WNBA, Kateri Poole hopes to win another championship with the Cougars. Despite the controversial exit from the team in 2024, the two remain close.