South Carolina women's basketball: How Tessa Johnson became the unexpected hero against Texas A&M

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Heroes are made in March, and Tessa Johnson was the unexpected star for South Carolina on Friday. 

A lot has been made of South Carolina’s depth this season, but the focus has generally been on MiLaysia Fulwiley and Ashlyn Watkins. And for good reason. They averaged double-figures in scoring and are good for a couple of highlight plays every game.

But at the two most critical moments of Friday’s 79-68 win over Texas A&M, it was Johnson who propelled South Carolina to the win.

After committing ten turnovers in the first quarter and looking to be in complete disarray, South Carolina gave up two quick baskets to start the second quarter. That gave Texas A&M a 17-16 lead, but Johnson made sure it was the Aggies’ only lead.

Johnson scored seven points during a 9-0 run that put the Gamecocks in front. She’s best known as a three-point shooter, but Johnson scored the first four points by getting in the lane and drawing fouls.

“They were talking about the difference between regular season and then post-season,” Johnson said. “I could feel the difference on the court. But my mindset is just lock in, trust my team, trust the process and trust my coaches.

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She did it again in the fourth quarter. South Carolina had gone up by 14 points late in the third, but Aicha Coulibaly went on a 5-0 run to finish the quarter, and the Aggies seemed to have momentum going into the final ten minutes. 

Johnson got into the lane, caught a pass from Kamilla Cardoso, and was fouled as she hit a tough turnaround, fallaway jumper. Momentum was back with the Gamecocks. Dawn Staley said she never hesitated to turn to her freshman in pressure moments.

“Tessa is solid. She’s very predictable,” Staley said. “She can score the ball. She scored a lot of points in high school. Sometimes you don’t think that transfers over. With her, it does. I mean, she’s a floor spacer. She can get to the rim. She has a nice pullup. It’s scoring on three levels.”

Johnson finished with an extremely efficient 13 points, her most in an SEC game. She was 3-5 from the floor including 1-2 from three, and 6-7 from the line. 

Johnson has a beautiful jump shot that always looks like it’s going in, but on this South Carolina team full of flashy players and big personalities, she is the quiet one. She is soft-spoken and baby-faced, with a Minnesota accent and a tendency to talk with her hands, and her play relies more on knowing where to be and where the ball should be. 

Johnson, who has good size at 6-0, has also developed into a good defender who uses her size well. That has been the key to her growth this season.

At the beginning of the season, Johnson’s defense was a question mark. During a preseason scrimmage, Johnson made the wrong read on a play and gave up a three-pointer. Assistant coach Winston Gandy called Johnson over and lectured her. 

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Johnson insisted she had made the right read. Gandy held firm – she had made a mistake. Johnson grew frustrated as she continued to insist she did the right thing, finally saying that was the read she had been taught in high school. 

He had her. Gandy reminded Johnson she wasn’t in high school anymore, and in the SEC she’d get burned for that mistake. A couple of teammates patted Johnson on the shoulder and assured her that she’d get the hang of it.

Fast forward to Friday. The key play during that 9-0 second-quarter run came from Johnson, but not on offense. It was on defense. Johnson blocked a layup attempt by Texas A&M freshman Sole Williams.

“I was trying to be like Ashlyn Watkins,” Johnson said.

It was the first block of Johnson’s college career, but she tried to play it cool. Her teammates and the highly partisan crowd at Bon Secours Wellness Arena were fired up enough for her, even if they downplayed it after the game.

“She was okay,” Watkins said, struggling to keep a straight face. 

“What block? I missed it,” Saley joked. “No, no. It was a good block. Tessa is a big guard. She probably lacked confidence in defense before she got here, especially when we started practicing. The emphasis that we put on it, she lacked confidence in it. The more and more she plays, the more and more she sees herself doing some great things out there on that side of the basketball, the more confidence she’s gaining and the more times she’s putting herself into position. Not only get a block, but she gets deflections, she’s in great defensive position.”

For the season, Johnson averages 5.9 points, 1.7 rebounds,  and 1.1 assists. She shoots 46.4% from three and 46.9% overall, plus 81.3% on free throws. The numbers don’t jump off the page, but since she does it in a little over 16 minutes per game, Johnson probably deserves more credit.

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