South Carolina women's basketball: Why Tessa Johnson thrives in big games
Tessa Johnson burst into the national conscience when she scored a career-high 19 points in the national championship game. She’s carried that production over to her sophomore season, proving that performance was no outlier.
Last season Johnson averaged 6.6 points on 44.7% shooting and hit 43.2% from three. She was inconsistent early in the season, but a few weeks into SEC play the lightbulb came on. Johnson saved her best for the postseason, even if she never fully embraced the “Tournament Tessa” nickname.
Johnson has improved her statistics in nearly every category this season and has become one of South Carolina’s most important players. She provides a consistent scoring punch off the bench, especially when the starters have struggled.
Johnson had 15 points to keep South Carolina close in the season-opener against Michigan, and then she scored 10 of the Gamecocks’ first 12 points against UCLA.
“I see how the game starts,” Johnson said. “Depending on that I’m just trying to do one thing out there and that’s help my team, no matter if it’s a slow start or whatever kind of start we have.”
Johnson is averaging 9.5 points this season, 10.7 if you exclude the NC State game when she injured her ankle and couldn’t play in the second half. She is shooting 48.8% overall and hitting 55% from three.
Johnson also seems to play her best in the big games. From last season’s tournament run, to the season opener, to a critical three against Clemson, to UCLA and Iowa State, the moment never seems to get too big for her. Recently, I asked Johnson why the big stage doesn’t bother her.
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“I don’t really know,” she said. “I just go out there and try to play my best every game and get better. That’s kind of my mentality out there.”
Johnson is more than just a shooter. At 6-0 with long arms, she has always been a decent defender, but this season Johnson is making a big impact on that end of the court.
She blocked two shots against Clemson and then blocked a jumper in each game in Fort Myers. Johnson already has four blocks this season, more than she had all of last season. She is also shutting down opponents when they try to drive to the basket.
“Tessa’s a player. I mean, obviously, she’s knocking down some threes for us to get us a little bit of momentum,” Dawn Staley said after the UCLA game. “We needed a lot more than Tessa today. But (I’m) proud of Tessa. Tessa’s a player that is going to have an extraordinary career for us, and (I) look forward to helping her continue to develop.”
