The Johnson Guarantee: How Raven and Tessa Keep Delivering When South Carolina Faces LSU
Some things in college basketball are simply reliable. Among them, it seems, is the Johnson duo showing up in a big way whenever South Carolina takes on LSU. Looking back across their careers, it is hard to argue the outcome of these matchups has ever been much of a surprise.
In the most recent meeting, Tessa Johnson was virtually unstoppable from beyond the arc, finishing with 21 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range. When LSU managed to build its largest advantage of the contest, Tessa responded by drilling consecutive three-pointers to swing the momentum decisively back in South Carolina’s favor. The sequence left LSU head coach Kim Mulkey visibly exasperated on the sideline, publicly questioning her team’s ability to contain the Gamecocks guard.
“I liked everything we did, except I didn’t like the way we guarded Tessa,” Mulkey said after the final buzzer. “We didn’t do what we were told to do for three days.”
Tessa’s brilliance was not confined to a single quarter. She had already piled up 16 points before halftime, carrying the Gamecocks offensively in the way she has done on multiple occasions throughout the season. Head coach Dawn Staley was candid in her assessment of just how central Tessa was to South Carolina’s attack on the night.
“She was our offense, to be quite honest,” Staley said. “We did a really good job with force-feeding her the ball because she was hot. Tessa did a great job getting herself open and square to the basket. It’s not on her fingers long before she’s launching it, and I’m very fortunate that she was very efficient.”
The performance capped a remarkable stretch for Tessa, who had scored 20 points against fifth-ranked Vanderbilt in the previous outing. That back-to-back run made her the first South Carolina player since Aliyah Boston during the 2019-20 season to record consecutive 20-point games against top-ten ranked opponents — a testament to the level Tessa has reached as a scorer.
But while Tessa ignited the Gamecocks, it was Raven Johnson who saw the job through to the finish. The experienced guard produced a career-best performance of 19 points, complemented by seven rebounds, six assists, and four steals. With South Carolina holding a narrow three-point lead and the clock winding under four minutes, Raven took charge of the closing stretch. She converted a layup, fed Madina Okot for another, and then stepped to the free throw line to put the result beyond doubt. Six of the Gamecocks’ final eight points came directly from Raven’s hands.
“We put the ball in Raven Johnson’s hands to make a play,” Staley said. “When it was down to that last possession, Raven was going to play make for herself or for her teammates.”
For LSU, the ending carried a painful sense of familiarity. In a prior matchup between the two programs, Raven had similarly taken over late in the game, controlling possession and converting the decisive scores as South Carolina closed on a dominant run. A season before that, she played a central role in an explosive late burst that transformed a tight contest into a comfortable Gamecocks advantage, punctuating it with a transition score and a steal that led directly to another basket.
When South Carolina needed someone to step up with the game on the line against LSU, Tessa and Raven answered — again. It is a pattern that has become as consistent as the rivalry itself, and one that Staley has come to rely on. She has long spoken about the value of knowing exactly what she will get from her players when the moment demands it. Against LSU, the two Johnsons have made that kind of dependability their defining quality.
