Flau’jae Johnson has played her last game at Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The encounter finished in a 101-47 victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament. Now the Tigers of Kim Mulkey will advance to play the Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16 round, but this is the last time the senior guard will see the Pete Maravich Assembly Center as an LSU player, as she’s out of eligibility years, and will be headed to the WNBA at the end of the season.
LSU won’t play another home game this season.
In the fourth quarter of the encounter, Kim Mulkey took Johnson off the court so she could get a standing ovation from fans and her teammates. The moment was clearly an emotional one, as the player started to break down in tears while hugging her teammates as she stepped off the court. Just before leaving the court, she shared a long hug with her coach in a moment that clearly meant a lot for both of them.
Flau’jae Johnson’s mom, Kia Brooks, took to X to share the video of her daughter leaving the court at Baton Rouge for one last time. She added the following message in the retweet:
“You did it beautiful!🥹🥲💜4️⃣💪🏾”
She was one of the game’s top scorers, alongside Mikaylah Williams, with both of them scoring 24 points for LSU. Amiya Joyner scored 11 points, while Kate Koval and Jada Richard scored 10 points.
Flau’jae Johnson On What It Means To Play For Kim Mulkey
During the postgame press conference, Kim said that Flau’jae Johnson is one of the best players in the history of the LSU Tigers women’s basketball program. When asked by the reporters what those comments meant for her, Johnson decided to joke around a bit and said:
“It’s an honor. She’s been coaching like 100 years.”
“I’m just kidding! I’m just playin’!” she added.
This immediately got a reply from Kim Mulkey, who had a joke of her own in the form of a threat.
“You just lost your starting job, sister,” said Mulkey while laughing and making the reporters break in laughter.
It seems very unlikely that, going into the critical phases of the NCAA Tournament, Kim Mulkey would sit out her top scorers.
The Tigers play Duke next Friday in Sacramento.
Read more:
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in baseball, tennis, college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
