Flau’jae Johnson Breaks Down Kara Lawson Moment After LSU-Duke Bench Clash
The biggest story to stem from the LSU women's basketball team's 93-77 victory over the Duke Blue Devils on December 4 came after LSU star guard Flau'jae Johnson drained a three-pointer in the fourth quarter.
After making this tough bucket, Flau'jae (who finished the game with 18 points, 3 made threes, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists) turned and began barking at Duke head coach Kara Lawson, who is also now the head coach of the USA women's national team.
Soon after this, the game's ESPN broadcast noted that this game was personal for Flau'jae because Lawson was her head coach on Team USA for the 2025 FIBA Women's AmeriCup this past summer, and Flau'jae didn't get the playing time she had hoped for in the tournament.
Flau'jae was chirping at Kara Lawson and Duke after this 3️⃣
— ESPN (@espn) December 5, 2025
She was hyped after her game sealing bucket 😤 pic.twitter.com/OaUHuL9MZY
LSU coach Kim Mulkey addressed this when speaking with the media after the game by saying, "I was happy for Flau'jae. I was happy. You know, she didn't have a good experience at USA Basketball with Kara this summer. And so she's had this date circled around [the calendar], and you get nervous, right? You get nervous because you think she's gonna try to come in here and do too much. And I was proud of how she handled herself.
"Flau'jae lost a lot of confidence this summer, playing with USA Basketball. And it’s my job when I get her back on campus to bring her back to where she can help us do what we need to do at LSU. I had a conversation with her many times this summer, had a conversation with her before we came here," Mulkey added.
Flau'jae Johnson Sends Message About Kara Lawson
Flau'jae took to social media in the wake of all the chatter surrounding her chirping at Lawson and sent a message about her former coach.
"Last night was a competitive environment and Duke is an amazing team. Their record does not reflect their grit or toughness. I was fired up in the moment but I have nothing but the utmost respect for Coach Kara Lawson, the coach I won my first Gold Medal under. Don’t get it twisted, she’s a legend. #Legend," Flau'jae wrote along with a GIF of her and Lawson shaking hands after the game ended.
Last night was a competitive environment and Duke is an amazing team. Their record does not reflect their grit or toughness. I was fired up in the moment but I have nothing but the utmost respect for Coach Kara Lawson, the coach I won my first Gold Medal under. Don’t get it… pic.twitter.com/4yEVxjRhJs
— Flaujae 4️⃣ (@Flaujae) December 5, 2025
One can't blame Flau'jae for letting her emotions take over in that moment, and she deserves a lot of credit for sending this message about Lawson. This is just another thing for Mulkey to be proud of.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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