LSU women’s basketball star Flau’jae Johnson has Hailey Van Lith’s back.
Johnson, 20, defended her former teammate when asked about Van Lith’s decision to transfer to TCU after one season with the Lady Tigers during a recent interview on “The Baller Alert Show” podcast.
“No, no, we can’t do that,” Johnson said to interrupt hosts Byron Turner and Sean Ferrari Simmons, who piled on the point guard for her performance in LSU’s loss to Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Tournament earlier this month.
“You could not guard that girl for 40 minutes. But she stepped up for the challenge at the end of the day. I had to follow the scouting report.”
When Turner asked “what was the scouting report,” Johnson quipped: “Interview over! I’m out of here!”
The “Big 4” rapper went on to explain that she supported Van Lith, who guarded Clark for most of LSU’s 94-87 loss to Iowa.
“Listen, I had to follow the counting report,” said Johnson, who finished with 23 points, six rebound and two assists. “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 … I thought about it, and I was like, I just gotta trust the game plan.”
Van Lith, who started in what would be her final contest at LSU, had nine points, one rebound and a single assist.
She struggled to defend Clark, who finished with 41 points in 40 minutes, and added four rebounds and two assists.
Many were confused that LSU head coach Kim Mulkey didn’t make adjustments and kept Van Lith on Clark for majority of the game.
Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Turner and Simmons explained that Van Lith was no match for Clark — the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader for men or women — in the March Madness contest.
“She transferred out [of LSU] because she got them buckets put on her,” Turner said.
“Boy, she needed some braces on her feet,” Simmons added.
Van Lith, 22, announced her commitment to TCU on social media Saturday.
“The pen has officially hit the paper,” she wrote, adding a frog emoji, referring to TCU’s mascot.
Van Lith garnered attention as an elite scorer while at Louisville from 2020-23.
In her junior season, the Adidas athlete averaged 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists before entering the transfer portal.
Van Lith transferred to LSU after the Lady Tigers won their first national championship in program history in a win over Clark and the Hawkeyes in the 2023 title game.
She will now compete in the Big 12 Conference as a member of the TCU Horned Frogs in her final year of eligibility.
Clark was the No. 1 overall pick by the Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Baller Alert’s full interview with Johnson premieres Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET.
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