BATON ROUGE, La. – Flau’Jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow showed no signs of injuries bothering them on Saturday night, leading No. 3 LSU to a 103-48 victory over No. 14 San Diego State in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
“I was nervous, I ain’t going to lie,” Johnson said about coming back from lingering shin inflammation in her right leg. Saturday marked the first time Johnson had played since the Tigers’ Feb. 27 loss to Alabama.
Johnson led the team with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, pushing her past the 1,500-point mark for her career, and Morrow grabbed her nation-leading 28th double-double of the season of 12 points and 12 rebounds. Their offensive effort was key to LSU’s 103 points, a program record for points in an NCAA Tournament game.
“Setting the record that’s something no one can ever take away from you,” Morrow said. “That’s something very powerful.”
LSU women’s basketball highlights
The duo played with passion and confidence on both offense and defense.
“I told myself that when I came back that I want to be the energy for the team,” Johnson said. “I feel like when you don’t get a chance to play basketball, it really changes your perspective on coming out and giving it everything you got.”
After a steal and layup early in the first quarter, Johnson looked to the crowd while hitting her chest and jumping up and down.
In a similar fashion, Morrow banked in a jumper and blew a kiss to the crowd to close out the first quarter. The fans’ response was blaring.
Johnson ended the third quarter with another layup off a fast break. When the buzzer sounded, she looked up to the crowd, raising her hands to booming cheers.
Both Johnson and Morrow have been recovering from injuries that caused them to miss time at the tail end of the season. Morrow re-aggravated a left foot sprain in the third quarter of LSU’s second-round loss to Texas in the SEC tournament.
The duo took their recovery seriously, sporting the Nike x Hyperice boot while speaking with reporters on Friday.
Earlier this week, Morrow and Johnson were recognized as second- and third team AP All-Americans, respectively. In games the duo have started, the Tigers are 26-3 on the season.
Who does LSU women’s basketball play next?
With the win, the Tigers move on to play No. 6 Florida State in the second round on Monday.
Tatum Esparza is a student in the University of Georgia’sSports Media Certificate program.