South Carolina women's basketball: Madina Okot helps South Carolina survive at Louisville

Madina Okot scored six straight points in the final three minutes to help South Carolina erase a three-point deficit and beat Louisville 79-77. 

Louisville hit back-to-back threes to take a 73-68 lead with four minutes left. Raven Johnson made a pair of free throws to cut into the lead, and then South Carolina turned to Okot. 

She scored the Gamecocks’ next three baskets, with one jumper from Reyna Scott mixed in. Okot’s third basket put the Gamecocks back in front with 90 seconds to play. 

“It’s Madina, the coaches are telling her she needs to be dominant,” Raven Johnson said. “Sometimes she dwells on the missed layups that she has, but she finished the game like she should.”

After a defensive stop, South Carolina milked the shot clock and Raven Johnson made a finger roll to give South Carolina a three-point lead.

Imari Berry was fouled and made two free throws to pull within one. Okot was fouled and made the first free throw, but missed the second. Louisville set up a three for Tajianna Roberts to go ahead, but she was off-target. Okot grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 2.7 seconds left. She missed both, but Louisville bobbled the rebound and couldn’t get a decent shot.

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“It was a great basketball game,” Dawn Staley said. “We both executed. It was a heavyweight boxing match. It came down to just who was going to make the biggest plays at the moment you need them the most.”

Okot finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds. She tied her career-high in scoring for the third time in the last five games. 

“That was our number one option, was to get her the ball, because she’s a high-percentage shooter,” Staley said. “If we couldn’t get her the ball, then it’s about players making plays.”

While Okot was the star of the fourth quarter, Tessa Johnson led the Gamecocks in the first three quarters. Johnson scored 20 points, two below her career high, and had seven rebounds to tie her career high. She also went 4-7 from three.

“The ball just happened to find my hands and they went in,” Johnson said.

South Carolina was determined to get Ta’Niya Latson involved more in the second half, and she scored five quick points at the beginning of the third quarter to give the Gamecocks an 11-point lead. Latson finished with just nine points but had five assists and repeatedly got to the rim and tried to draw fouls.

Roberts answered with back-to-back threes and then Skylar Jones added a layup to cap an 8-0 run. After each basket, South Carolina thought it drew a foul on a layup attempt, but there was no whistle.

Raven Johnson threw the ball away at the end of the third quarter, and Imari Berry converted the turnover into a layup as time expired. Scott opened the fourth quarter with a layup to give Louisville the lead, and then Skylar Jones added a three. The 7-0 spurt gave Louisville its biggest lead of the game, 67-63.

Okot scored inside to end the run, and Tessa Johnson put the Gamecocks back in front with a three.

“I was mad at myself,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t in my head too much, but I was like, dang, what can I do better and what can I do to help my team get over the edge?”

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Johnson finished with 11 points, eight assists, and four rebounds.

The Cardinals took advantage of back-to-back blown defensive assignments, and Elif Istanbulloglu and Roberts hit consecutive threes to take a 73-68 lead with four minutes left. 

In the first half, neither team could miss – or play defense. But the fourth quarter became a grind. South Carolina shot 35.3% in the final frame, while Louisville shot 27.8%.

Roberts led Louisville with 20 points, but South Carolina held the Cardinals’ second-leading scorer, Laura Ziegler, scoreless with four rebounds. Istanbulloglu tied her career high with 15 points, but only three came in the second half.

Notes:

Agot Makeer is in concussion protocol and did not make the trip. … South Carolina has not lost consecutive games since the 2018-19 season, when it lost the season finale against Mississippi State and the first game of the SEC Tournament against Arkansas. … Okot recorded her seventh double-double of the season. She is tied with Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers for the nation’s lead. … Louisville entered the game with a plus-6.6 turnover margin, but turnovers were even on Thursday. The Cardinals did manage to hold the Gamecocks without an official fast-break point, however. … South Carolina was 11-17 from the line, but 10-13 before Okot went 1-4 at the end. … The Gamecocks shot 14-25 on layups. Louisville was 10-16. … Dawn Staley’s outfit: Staley wore a black sweater with stars on it. … Announced attendance was 10,012. … South Carolina’s next game is on Sunday against North Carolina Central.

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