South Carolina women's basketball: Rapid Reaction - Duke

South Carolina used a come-from-behind 54-50 win over Duke to advance to the Final Four. Here’s what stood out from the game.

– Survive and advance, they say. There are no style points in the tournament, they say. They are right, of course, but it would be really nice if South Carolina could shake out of this funk and start playing like it did in the SEC tournament. 

“Trust me, me heart be beating out there too,” Raven Johnson said. “Our FAMs, I know we give them heart attacks, but I’m glad we have moments like this because it’s going to prepare us for the Final Four.”

– The third quarter was one one of the stranger quarters I’ve ever covered. Between South Carolina’s refusal to grab any rebound (they had just two, and one was a team rebound, which came when Duke’s Oluchi Okananwa missed a three at the end of the quarter) and Duke exploding for 20 points, it was like a game from bizarro world.

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I asked several players if they’ve ever been on a team that only had two rebounds in a quarter. Tessa Johnson said, “Who?” and didn’t believe me. Te-Hina Paopao just said, “Probably. Probably at Oregon.”

– In many ways, that was a vintage Raven Johnson game. She had seven points, five rebounds, three steals, a block, and an assist. Johnson had the best plus-minus on the team (+10) and was huge in the fourth quarter. After the game, I asked her about how she filled up the box score.

With a few minutes left, Dawn Staley called Johnson over, put her arms on her shoulders and delivered a message.

“She said bring us home,” Johnson said. “She said you find a way to win, and she said ‘Lead them, Raven, lead them.’”

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