With undefeated South Carolina jolted onto an unfamiliar backfoot, coach Dawn Staley looked toward her bench to remedy an early 11-point deficit to Iowa — more specifically, she looked toward Tessa Johnson.
The freshman guard outshone her six-point scoring average all tournament long and was a revelation in relief for the Gamecocks. With a team-high 19 points and three triples, Johnson led South Carolina to a slim halftime lead and a dominant third quarter, helping the Gamecocks claim their second national title in three years, 87-75, and cap off a perfect season.
The role players were rolling from the opening tip, as Kate Martin and Sydney Affolter gave Iowa a quick 7-0 lead, but Caitlin Clark scored 13 in a row from all over the court. The newly crowned AP Player of the Year drained a pair of 3s, was fouled on two more attempts and converted at the rim to give her Hawkeyes a 20-9 lead by the first media timeout. Clark finished with 30 points (10 of 28 shooting), eight rebounds and five assists in her last college game.
Iowa’s centers Hannah Stuelke and Addison O’Grady admirably limited star Gamecock post Cardoso to just 2 of 6 shooting in the first quarter, but the Brazilian behemoth partnered with Johnson and inevitably found her opening. Johnson — who led the…
