LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson discusses playing with MiLaysia Fulwiley and the big South Carolina game
LSU senior guard Flau’jae Johnson understands the excitement of the women’s basketball game against South Carolina this Saturday night, but she hasn’t let it overwhelm her.
“I just did a new calendar,” Johnson told Alicia Jay on “We Need To Talk.” “I don’t have anything but my weekly schedule. So, for next Sunday, I’ll do my whole week for next week, but I’ve got to be where my feet are because that’s my focus.
“But also, obviously, it’s a big game. It’s going to be one of the biggest games, I feel like, in women’s basketball history. I feel like it’s going to be a largely-watched, highly-anticipated game.”
The premiere SEC matchup will bring ESPN’s “College GameDay” back to LSU’s campus.
“It’s going to be dope,” Johnson said. “Everyone’s going to be tuned in. I’m excited. Those are the games that you come to college to play for. Those are the games you come to play at LSU for.”
In addition to this being the continuation of a heated back-and-forth that stems back to the days of Angel Reese and Aliyah Boston, this season’s matchup has an extra touch of spice. MiLaysia Fulwiley, the South Carolina native who spent the first two years of her college career under coach Dawn Staley in her hometown, will face her former program for the first time as a new member of the Tigers under coach Kim Mulkey.
“I expect her to play how she always plays,” Johnson said. “With an edge, with her speed, with her aggression, with her confidence. That’s up to us to build into her, like, ‘Hey. No matter what, we’ve got your back.’ It is just another game, but this is the team she just transferred from, so I know she’s going to have a lot of things on her mind, so it’s my job to let her know that we’re with [her], we’re riding. You know what I’m saying, and we’ve got your back. We’re going to go out here and play this game.
“It’s two great teams. Dawn Staley has an amazing program, no doubt about that. Lay says it all the time. I’m just excited to play that game, but I know she’s excited, as well.”
Tip off at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday on ESPN.
