No. 3 South Carolina women's basketball extended its winning streak over No. 6 LSU women's basketball to 18 games Saturday night, and Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley had pointed praise for guard Raven Johnson after the 79-72 win.
“Raven Johnson is a winner. Like look it up in the dictionary, look it up on your iPhone, winning play. And she did that tonight. Sealed the deal with the free throws. Just proud of her. And I'll say this, she's probably the one that I'll miss the most out of out of all the players,” Staley said after the game in a video shared on X, formerly Twitter, by the SEC Network.
"Raven Johnson is a winner … she's probably the one I'll miss the most out of all the players that I've coached."
Dawn Staley gives Raven Johnson her flowers 🥹@CollegeGameDay | @GamecockWBB pic.twitter.com/ZZNHIvo2xW
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) February 15, 2026
Johnson scored 19 points and played a key role late as South Carolina (25-2, 11-1 SEC) closed on a 6-0 run to secure the win. After LSU trimmed the margin to 73-72 and had an opportunity to take the lead with 45.5 seconds remaining, the Tigers missed two free throws. The Gamecocks responded with a layup from Madina Okot and additional free throws to maintain control in the final seconds.
Tessa Johnson led South Carolina with 21 points, including 11 in the second quarter as the Gamecocks turned a 21-16 first-quarter deficit into a 41-40 halftime lead. Okot added 12 points and 17 rebounds, while Joyce Edwards scored 10.
LSU (22-4, 8-4) was led by Flau’jae Johnson’s 21 points and Mikaylah Williams’ 11. The Tigers missed 10 layups and nine free throws in the loss.
The win was Dawn Staley's 500th with the Gamecocks program.
South Carolina will travel to face No. 23 Alabama on Thursday. LSU visits No. 16 Ole Miss the same night.
Reporting by Ron Higgins of the Associated Press contributed to this article.
