By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
The No. 9 LSU women’s basketball team got off to a near-perfect start to the 2026-2027 season with a 129-35 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Monday night, the largest margin of victory in program history.
But it was sophomore guard ZaKiyah Johnson who stole the show. The 2026 freshman all-Southeastern Conference selection was all over the court, leading the game with 33 points, 13 rebounds and five steals in 29 minutes. She made 14 of her 19 shots, went 2-of-3 from three and made three of her six free throws to crush her previous career high 19 points versus Marist last season. It is her fourth career double-double and the most points scored by a tiger since Aneesah Morrow’s 36-point night against Florida in the 2025 SEC tournament. Johnson joins Morrow and Angel Reese as the only Tigers to record a 30-point double-double under coach Kim Mulkey.
One of two returning five-star freshmen from last season, Johnson has worked to take the next step for the Tigers in year two.
“I’ve done a great job of just sitting down and watching myself,” Johnson said after the game. “The things that I needed to work on, I worked on and I continue to work on. Like, I got better at my shot, but I’m still continuing to work on it. And just being relentless. My team, they really encouraged me to kind of just go all over the place, and it’s kind of the tone that I set on the floor.”
That relentless tone manifested in a barrage on the offensive glass. Johnson was one board shy of breaking her best career mark of 14 total rebounds. Nine of her 13 rebounds came on the offensive end as she swallowed up her teammates missed shots and frequently followed her own. Of her 33 points, 20 of them came in the paint.
“Being down there last year kind of showed me how big everyone else is compared to me, so, just utilizing my speed and kind of getting places early,” Johnson said. “I feel like I’m always in a good spot, so just kind of finessing different things.”
Mulkey said one of Johnson’s biggest strengths as a rebounder is that she is always moving. That makes her almost impossible to box out and is a testament to her activity on the board. Mulkey said the sophomore reminded her of her former Baylor star Nina Davis, a 5-foot-11 forward who was a two-time All-American with the Bears. She was a four-year starter under Mulkey and averaged 16.2 points and 7.2 rebounds a game over her career.
“Z is probably the best conditioned player I have,” Mulkey said. “She just never gets tired. She’s always in the front of the drill. She’s in the front of the conditioning. She just never gets tired, and so I am not surprised at all by what she did tonight. And there’ll be many more of those.”
The 6-0 guard from Shelbyville, Kentucky, was recruited to play on the perimeter for Mulkey, but when the Tigers needed reinforcements in the post last season, she shifted inside. Again this year, Mulkey planned on putting her back out on the wing, but a late departure from center Kate Koval and an injury to forward Noa Morro have left Mulkey again shifting her budding star inside. Now, Johnson has shined in a hybrid role where she can feature her improved jumper on the outside while utilizing her relentless effort in the post.
“I hoop, so wherever Coach Mulkey wants me, I’m going to go,” Johnson said. “My work ethic has really showed that I can play on the wing, and I can be inside as well.”
Johnson started the win against Southeastern at the four, where she got most of her minutes last season. Iowa State transfer Jada Williams and senior MiLaysia Fulwiley took the guard spots, and fourth-year Tiger Mikaylah Williams was on the wing. Johnson said she played all over the court while prepping at Sacred Heart Academy as well, so her dynamic role is not a big surprise or adjustment.
Mulkey said she has heard Johnson’s answer only one other time in her career, going back to her playing days at Louisiana Tech.
“Our best player came off the bench, but a senior started in front of her,” Mulkey said. For the sake of the team, it made us have better chemistry, and she was asked that question. And she said, ‘Whatever coach (Leon) Barmore wants me to do I will do.’ So when (Johnson) said that, that just speaks volumes on Z.”
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