Same time, same teams, different place. LSU defeated UCLA in the Sweet 16 of the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament. On Sunday, they’ll meet again in the Big Dance, this time with a trip to the Final Four on the line. Ahead of the highly-anticipated showdown, the two sides exchanged words.
Ironically, the boldest comment came from UCLA forward Janiah Barker, who didn’t even play for the Bruins last year. She transferred from Texas A&M, though, and still has bad memories from playing the Tigers during her time in the SEC.
“I don’t like LSU if I’m being honest,” Barker told Brenna Greene on Saturday. “I want to beat them as bad as they [her UCLA teammates] do, but probably a little more because Texas A&M and LSU was a rivalry. It’s like a rivalry game for me just reset.”
While Barker’s teammates didn’t go that far, it was clear the loss to the Tigers is still with them.
“I think we all remember a lot about the game, the intensity, how physical it was, what a great matchup it was,” Kiki Rice said during an off-day press conference. “Obviously, we didn’t come out on top last year, but I think just everything that we learned from their style of play and how we needed to come out and how we needed to…
