Flau’jae Johnson isn’t one to allow others to bash her teammates. During a recent appearance on “The Baller Alert Show” podcast, the show’s hosts ragged on Hailey Van Lith’s defensive performance against Caitlin Clark, claiming Van Lith “needed some braces on her feet.”
Clark exploded for 41 points with Van Lith as her primary defender in Iowa’s 94-87 win over LSU in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Clark also tallied seven rebounds and 12 assists while shooting 9-20 from beyond the arc.
Earlier this week, Van Lith announced she will be transferring to TCU next season. When one of the show’s hosts insinuated her performance against Iowa was part of the reason she was leaving LSU, Johnson rushed to her former teammate’s defense.
“No, no, we can’t do that,” Johnson said. “Your eyes work, but do your legs work because you could not guard [Clark] for 40 minutes. [Van Lith] stepped up for the challenge at the end of the day. I had to follow the scouting report.”
It isn’t the first time Johnson has given Clark her flowers. Ahead of LSU and Iowa’s Elite Eight matchup, Johnson pulled back the curtain on the challenge of guarding Clark.
“She’s just a great player,” Johnson said. “Last year, I got to switch on her early in the game, and I was like, ‘She’s not going to pull that for real,’ and then she pulled it for real from half court, and she made it. I was like, whoa. Kind of had spurts and moments getting in switches with her.
“So it’ll be a good display for me. It’s just like I want to compete at the highest level, and right now Caitlin is the highest level. So if I can defend her, try to contain her and get the win, we’ll be fine. There’s no stopping her, but containing her, I’m going to take on that challenge.”
Despite Johnson’s optimism, she did not receive the defensive assignment of defending Clark. In the podcast, Johnson looked back on LSU’s game plan for the superstar.
“I talked to my coach after, after we went over it — because we go over the scouting report the night before. For me, it was just like being a supportive teammate,” Johnson said. “I thought about it, and I was like, I just gotta trust the game plan, trust the team.”
Flau’jae Johnson certainly can’t be blamed for the loss. She finished the game with a team-high 23 points while shooting 10-18 from the field. Johnson is expected to return to LSU next year for her junior campaign.
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