LSU posts welcome back message to students as Flau’Jae Johnson and teammates pose with Tigers fans

The LSU Tigers women's basketball team welcomed back students with a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday. The message featured a photo of LSU stars Flau'Jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams posing with fans after the Tigers rallied to beat Stanford 94-88 in overtime last month.

Williams had a season-best 32 points, including a jumper with 4.2 seconds remaining to send the game into the extra period, in the win over the Cardinal.

That game, on Dec. 5, was the last time the school had its full student body on campus for a women's basketball game. With the spring semester beginning, the students are back in time as No. 6 LSU (18-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) hosts Vanderbilt (14-3, 1-2) on Monday night.

LSU coach Kim Mulkey, who has won national titles as a player, assistant coach and head coach and is in the Naismith Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, has a remarkable track record as a head coach. That started at Baylor, where she won three national championships. She also led LSU to its first NCAA championship in 2023 in her second season in charge of the Tigers.

Kim Mulkey lauds Flau'Jae Johnson in matchup with Lady Vols

LSU women's basketball superstar Flau'Jae Johnson has proven over again that she can do it all: NCAA champion, rising rapper star and multiple NIL ambassadorships. She even made the prestigious Forbes' 30 under 30 list.

However, the Tigers' 89-87 win at the No. 16 Tennessee Lady Volunteers on Tuesday showed that the junior guard was human, too.

Johnson produced her best performance of 2025 as she was one of four Tigers in double figures. She posted 20 points (on 40.9% shooting), eight rebounds and three assists.

However, in the first quarter, the Lady Vols’ Talaysia Cooper got the better of her. As Johnson drove past her defender to the basket, Cooper rotated over to neutralize the Tigers' star, who lost her balance and fell on the court after the block.

Cooper had 24 points for Tennessee (13-2, 1-2 Southeastern Conference).

Kim Mulkey defended her star.

“Well, she shot it 23 times (10 of 23), four turnovers. That’s about as good as we can guard," Mulkey said. "I thought Flau’jae did tremendous on her. That’s who was assigned to her.”

Meanwhile, LSU is among three undefeated teams in women’s college basketball along with top-ranked UCLA (16-0) and Ohio State (16-0).