LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson was overcome with emotion after the Tigers hard-fought Sweet 16 win over UCLA.
Speaking to the media following her impressive 24-point performance on Saturday, Johnson spoke on her mentality prior to tip-off and how it fueled her to have the game that she had.
“I’m just emotional … I was trying to figure out ‘What’s my why?’ And I kind of just looked at my mom today, like I never looked at her before, and I was like ‘I know my why now,'” the sophomore explained.
“I had just a different level of passion that I knew I was going to play with today and I seen my mom out there and she just sacrificed so much for me — so it was definitely my mom,” Johnson said.
Johnson was perhaps the biggest reason the LSU was able to pull out today’s win with Angel Reese in foul trouble.
Her 24 points, 12 boards and pair of blocks in 39 minutes of action helped send the Bruins home and keep the Tigers on their collision course with Iowa this NCAA Tournament.
Johnson had some additional comments for her naysayers in the immediate aftermath of this weekend’s win.
“I’ve been focused, I’ve been in the gym, I’ve been locked in. Everyday I’m in the gym putting in work. Everyday. Cause I know people gonna discredit me cause I rap and I hoop. So I know I gotta go extra hard.”