"Hopefully she doesn't scare the refs": UCLA's Janiah Barker takes jabs at LSU HC Kim Mulkey ahead of Elite Eight battle
UCLA forward Janiah Barker helped the No. 1-seeded Bruins beat the No. 5-seeded Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday in their Sweet 16 clash. Barker registered eight points, six rebounds and one assist in 16 minutes.
Next up, the Bruins will clash with Kim Mulkey's No. 3 LSU Tigers on Sunday in the Elite Eight. During her pregame news conference ahead of the clash, Barker made scathing remarks about Mulkey and the Tigers due to their Southeastern Conference rivalry with her former team, the Texas A&M Aggies.
"I don't like LSU, if I'm being honest," Barker said. "It's like a little rivalry, but I want to beat them as bad as they do, but probably a little even more, because it's definitely, you know, Texas A&M - LSU was a rivalry, so it's like a rivalry game for me, just like reset.
"So, you know, as a 13-seed in the conference, you're not gonna get a lot of calls against them, but I think when we did play them, we definitely gave them a run for their money every time we did."
Then she threw a verbal jab at Mulkey's reputation of haranguing the officials.
"Refs play a big part of the game," Barker said. "They're a part of the game as well. So if you don't have those on your side against them, it's kind of hard to get that. I think that we have a really, really good team, so I'm excited to see what we do against them, you know. I played them a couple of times.
"I'm an SEC kid. I came over to Texas A&M, they're really physical. They're really tough. They got Kim Mulkey over there. Hopefully, she don't scare all the refs tomorrow."
Janiah Barker has settled into UCLA well
Janiah Barker entered the transfer portal from the Texas A&M Aggies last year and joined forces with Lauren Betts to lead the UCLA Bruins to the Big Ten Tournament championship two weeks ago and their first-ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Barker has averaged 7.6 points (on 46.6% shooting, including 15.6% shooting from beyond the arc), 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists this season for the Bruins.
The UCLA forward with a long-held grudge will be one of the Bruins' key pieces against the LSU Tigers in their Elite Eight clash for a chance to book their spot in the Final Four of the Big Dance.