LSU Women’s Basketball put on a dominant performance in their season opener against Eastern Kentucky, securing their first win by a final score of 95-44.
Superstar junior guard Flau’jae Johnson continues to show major strides of improvement with her shooting; accounting for 12 of the Tigers’ first 18 points halfway through the first quarter.
Without the presence of talented players such as Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith this season, Head Coach Kim Mulkey firmly believes that this version of Flau’jae’s game is the best she has seen over her three years in this program.
“I think it’s very obvious, Flau’jae is playing effortlessly,” Mulkey said. “Why’s that? She’s in the greatest shape she’s ever been in, in her life. It’s coming very easy for her.”
For the first time this season, forward Sa’Myah Smith was able to take the court. Last year, Smith experienced a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus that abruptly ended her season only seven games into it.
With being able to get back into the swing of things, Smith understands the identity the Tigers want to establish on both ends of the court.
“I think we just want to be known as a team that’s going to play hard the whole game,” Smith said. “Give it our best every night, because we know what we’re competing against and who we’re competing against. [We want to be] a team that plays hard and is gritty and tough.”
When you examine the roster construction for this season, you’ll notice new faces making an impact.
Miami transfer guard Shayeann Day-Wilson started her first game in the purple and gold. She was able to knock down a pair of threes successfully.
Additionally, LSU fans got their first regular season glimpse of Arizona transfer guard Kailyn Gilbert.
Lighting a spark off the bench, Gilbert finished with a sneaky nine points; further illustrating just how much guard depth this roster has despite dealing with a handful of injuries.
And according to Coach Mulkey, once key players finally become healthy and available, this team will become even more dangerous and a force to be reckoned with.
“We have depth, but we don’t have it right now,” Mulkey said. “We’re also a team that I just think is going to get better and better… we just need to get them all on [the same] page in practice every day.”
From an injury standpoint, the Tigers suffer from some notable missing contributors.
Mississippi State transfer guard Mjracle Sheppard is expected to remain out for a couple of weeks, as she deals with a stress reaction that the team does not want to make worse.
Veteran guard Last-Tear Poa remains unavailable as she continues pursuing her lawsuit against the U.S. Immigration Services over a visa dispute involving potential profit(s) from NIL deals.
Flau’jae Johnson finished with a game-high 25 points (10-15 FG), five rebounds, two assists.
Senior guard Aneesah Morrow followed suit with a double-double. She finished with 20 points (9-11 FG) and 10 rebounds.
Sa’Myah Smith secured a double-double as well. She finished with 15 points (6-7 FG) and 11 rebounds.
No.7 ranked LSU Women’s Basketball faces off against Northwestern State in their next matchup on Friday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. CST at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
