Despite Mikaylah Williams' dagger, Kim Mulkey highlighted how Flau'jae Johnson led LSU to OT win over Stanford
Kim Mulkey's No. 5 LSU Tigers overcame the Kate Paye-led Stanford Cardinal in overtime thanks to Mikaylah Williams and Flau'jae Johnson's performances. In the ACC/SCC Challenge matchup on Thursday, the Tigers defeated the Cardinal 94-88 to remain undefeated.
Johnson chipped in 21 points, three rebounds and six assists for the Tigers. Williams, a sophomore from Louisiana, scored 32 points — the most in the game and the second-highest of her college career — on 12-of-18 shooting, including a 2-point jumper with four seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
After the game, Kim Mulkey spoke about why Mikaylah Williams was given the ball to make the final play.
"Let's back up on how we got into overtime with Flau'jae's defensive ability right there. That was as good as you'll ever see," Mulkey said postgame. "What I drew up wasn't exactly from Mikaylah. It just didn't pan out, but it was to get it in Mikaylah's hands.
"But it was for [Kailyn Gilbert] coming off real quick because I wasn't going for the 3 right there — I was going for the tie. I told Mikaylah, 'If you fumble it or we can't get the handoff, Marrow, you go set a screen for Mikaylah to come off.' She didn't even have to use the screen, and that's what happened."
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Mikaylah Williams reflects on 0-point game against Washington
Mikaylah Williams suffered a forgettable game against the Washington Huskies on Nov. 25 where she failed to score a single point.
In the semifinals of the Pink Flamingo Championship in Nassau, Bahamas, Williams missed all nine of her field goal attempts and could not make any of her 3-pointers.
After the LSU-Stanford game, she was asked how she managed to recover from that rough performance.
"The Washington game is in the past. I can't do anything about it in any further games going forward, so just leaving the Washington game in the past," Williams said.
"Even my teammates and my coaching staff instilling that confidence in me to continue to shoot and continue to give me the ball late in the game to make those big shots. As long as I know they got me, I got them," she added.
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Mikaylah Williams bounced back in the Tigers' next game, posting 24 points and three rebounds in LSU's 82-65 win against NC State. She followed that up with 10 points and three rebounds in a 131-44 rout of North Carolina Central on Sunday.
Williams and Co. host the Grambling State Tigers next at CenturyLink Center on Sunday.