LSU star FlauJae Johnson ready to go for March Madness Elite Eight after scary collision

SPOKANE, Wash.— LSU star Flau’Jae Johnson is “good to go” for Sunday’s Elite Eight game against top-seeded UCLA, coach Kim Mulkey said Saturday. Johnson exited the fourth quarter of Friday’s 80-73 after colliding with an opposing player while diving for a loose ball. Johnson believes she was elbowed in the eye on the play and said she “couldn’t really focus my eyes.”“I was seeing double,” Johnson said.

“So I was trying to go back in the game, and then I was like, ‘I can’t see.’ So I just sat down.But I’m good, though.” Over the last five minutes of the game, Johnson watched from the sideline as her team overcame a five-point deficit to upset second-seeded NC State.

She finished with a season-low three points on eight shots but contributed five rebounds and four assists. Mulkey believes Johnson will be “ready to go” Saturday though.  Want to tune into as much March Madness as you can? DIRECTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV both have you covered with every channel you’ll need, plus free trials.“She will bounce back just like All-Americans do,” Mulkey said.“She struggled, and we won without her, basically, and now she wants to try to do more on the floor.

But I don’t anticipate anything.Flau’Jae’s Flau’Jae.

She’s going to bounce back and beat herself up probably all night.“But today’s a new day, and she’s got that smile on her face and that joyful spirit that makes her Flau’Jae.”Johnson didn’t lose any sleep over her lowest-scoring output in two years.

In fact, she was caught off guard when a reporter asked her Saturday about rebounding from a tough performance.“For real?” Johnson said when she was told she scored only three points.“I forgot about it… That’s the mentality you got to have.”UCLA doesn’t doubt that Johnson will have a strong response to a flukey scoring night. “It’s sort of scary because you don’t really see her have two off nights in a row, right?” coach Cor...