• by Sarah Mahoney , Yesterday

E.L.F. Beauty has never been shy about betting on women's sports. Its latest wager is Flau'jae Johnson — LSU basketball star, rapper, philanthropist and, as of this week, the newest member of the brand's growing "Empowered.Legendary.Females." roster.

The timing is hard to argue with. According to Sports Video Group, ESPN networks just delivered its most-watched women's college basketball regular season since 2008-09, up 19% over an already historic prior year, with 3.6 billion total minutes watched. Ad rates for the NCAA Women's Tournament Championship Game hit $1.5 million for a single 30-second spot this year, according to Adweek — topping $1 million for the second consecutive year. Johnson herself is ranked No. 15 among the tournament's top players by ESPN, and LSU is Nielsen's third-most-popular women's college basketball program this season.

For E.L.F.,  one of the fastest-growing beauty brands in the country, with 24 consecutive quarters of sales and market share growth, Johnson is likely more than another sports marketing play. She's a basketball player, a recording artist and the founder of More to 4 Foundation, a nonprofit supporting families, single mothers and young people. With over 2,000 career points and back-to-back All-SEC First Team honors, she's also legitimately one of the best players in the country, not just a famous face who happens to love lip gloss.

That multidimensional profile fits squarely into what E.L.F. has been building with its "Empowered.Legendary.Females." franchise — a roster that already includes Billie Jean King, NASCAR driver Katherine Legge, Olympic hockey player Kendall Coyne Schofield and several top women's soccer players. Each is an athlete who operates well beyond their sport's boundaries.

Johnson's first project with the brand is a new episode of E.L.F.'s “Show Yourself” social-media series, which has accumulated more than 7 million views across previous installments featuring athletes, activists and artists. Earlier segments have featured astronaut Amanda Nguyen and Paralympic champion Anastasia Pagonis. Johnson's episode includes her original music.

E.L.F. is also making a $75,000 donation to Johnson's More to 4 Foundation, a detail that grounds the partnership in something more tangible than a typical endorsement deal,  and builds on the brand’s commitment to advocacy, including gender parity in sports.

The Oakland, California-based company couldn't have scripted the timing better — the partnership goes public just as Johnson prepares for what may be her biggest game of the season, LSU versus Duke in the Sweet 16 March 27.