ALBANY, N.Y. — Angel Reese sodded down the court after being called for her fourth foul, knowing she was being subbed out.
If No. 3 LSU women’s basketball and Kim Mulkey were going to overcome No. 2 UCLA in the Sweet 16 clash on this Saturday afternoon inside the MVP Arena in Albany, New York, it was going to have to figure it out with the face of its team on the bench.
The Bruins led by a point at that moment with 8:25 remaining in the game. Behind some opportunistic defense, LSU retook the lead seconds later off freshman Mikaylah Williams’ putback. She scored six points in rapid succession.
LSU figured it out, putting together a 6-0 run late in the game and sophomore sensation Flau’jae Johnson making the biggest bucket of the season, taking what was a blocked shot off of Reese to a driving layup that put her team ahead 72-68 with 39 seconds to go.
The Tigers survived 78-69 to advance to its second straight Elite 8 where it’ll play the winner of No. 1 Iowa and No. 5 Colorado, who play later Saturday.
Flau’jae Johnson spin move sets early table for stellar performance for LSU women’s basketball vs UCLA in Sweet 16
The lead changed five times in the first 11 minutes. But LSU women’s basketball sophomore sensation Flau’jae Johnson had already found her groove.
As No. 3 LSU tried to piece together a way to stretch its lead in its Sweet 16 showdown against No. 2 UCLA, managing just a three-point lead by that point, Johnson struck the match that propelled the Tigers to a more comfortable first-half advantage.
Johnson caught a pass on the right wing from a running point guard Hailey Van Lith. After seeing the ball and Kiki Rice closing out on her, Johnson attacked the rim with no regard for human life, hitting a vicious spin move in the paint to get herself enough room to knock down a leaning floater in the paint at the 6:53 mark in the second quarter.
Johnson’s 13 first-half points sent the Tigers jubilant into the locker room, up 34-27 over UCLA.
She knocked down her first two shot attempts, both 3s, the second of which gave LSU its first lead. Johnson also attacked the glass early as well, handling rebounds when the ball bounced long off the basket.
For the game, Johnson had 24 points with 12 rebounds.
UCLA settled for 3-pointers. LSU Tigers benefitted early but Bruins rallied with it
In its last three games, UCLA has averaged putting up 27 3-pointers, but in the two games where it shot 30 or more, it went 1-1, losing to USC in the Pac-12 Tournament and shot 31 against an outmanned No. 15 Cal-Baptist in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Bruins put up 17 3s in the first half, making only two as the Tigers built their halftime advantage.
Thanks to guard Londynn Jones, UCLA got hot behind the arc in the third quarter. Jones hit a 3-pointer right before halftime and came out the locker room still heated up, draining three more 3s, the third of which erased what was a 10-point deficit for the Bruins to give her them a 45-44 lead late in the third.
UCLA shot 7-of-29 from the perimeter for the game, making five in the second half.
UCLA keeps Angel Reese, LSU off offensive boards
One of the main staples of a Kim Mulkey coached team is rebounding the ball. And with Reese, a trademark has been collecting plenty of offensive rebounds.
But UCLA was able to counter with star 6-foot-7 sophomore center Lauren Betts.
The Bruins controlled the glass all afternoon, outrebounding LSU 44 to 38 overall. But where the Tigers were hurt the most was on the offensive glass. UCLA held the edge there, 16 to six.
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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz atbdiaz@gannett.com.
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