South Carolina pulled off a gritty comeback on Thursday night, rallying in the final minutes to edge Louisville 79–77, thanks to a dominant late stretch from Madina Okot. The Gamecocks trailed by three with under four minutes remaining, but Okot’s six straight points flipped the momentum and powered USC to a hard-earned victory.
Louisville appeared to seize control after draining consecutive three-pointers to go up 73–68. But after Raven Johnson sank two free throws to trim the deficit, South Carolina fed Okot possession after possession. She delivered three straight baskets—interrupted only by a mid-range jumper from Reyna Scott—and her final bucket put the Gamecocks back in front with 1:30 left.
“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 key defensive stop, South Carolina ran clock, and Johnson sliced to the rim for a soft finger roll that extended the lead to three. Louisville’s Imari Berry responded by hitting two free throws, and Okot was fouled moments later, making one of two. The Cardinals drew up a potential game-winning three for Tajianna Roberts, but it missed. Okot hauled in the final rebound, was fouled with 2.7 seconds left, and though she missed both attempts, Louisville mishandled the rebound and never got a clean look before time expired.
“It was a great basketball game,” Dawn Staley said afterward. “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, tying her career high in scoring for the third time in 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 took over late, Tessa Johnson carried the Gamecocks through the opening three quarters. She posted 20 points, just shy of her career high, grabbed seven rebounds to match her best mark, and buried four of her seven attempts from deep.
“The ball just happened to find my hands and they went in,” Johnson said.
South Carolina also made a point to get Ta’Niya Latson more involved after halftime. She scored five early third-quarter points to stretch the lead to 11, finishing with nine points, five assists, and relentless drives that pressured Louisville’s defense.
But the Cardinals fought back. Roberts knocked down two threes, Skylar Jones added a layup, and an 8–0 run erased USC’s cushion. A late turnover by Raven Johnson ended the third quarter with Berry converting a buzzer-beating layup to tie the game. Scott opened the fourth with a score, Jones followed with a three, and Louisville seized its biggest advantage at 67–63.
Okot stopped the bleeding, and Tessa Johnson reclaimed the lead with a three of her own.
“I was mad at myself,” Johnson admitted. “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?”
She closed with 11 points, eight assists, and four rebounds.
Louisville continued to capitalize on defensive lapses, using wide-open threes from Elif Istanbulloglu and Roberts to jump back ahead 73–68 with four minutes left—but that would be their final push before Okot took over.
The fourth quarter turned into a defensive slugfest. South Carolina shot just 35.3%, while Louisville hit 27.8%. Roberts led the Cardinals with 20 points, but the Gamecocks shut down star forward Laura Ziegler, holding her scoreless with four rebounds. Istanbulloglu added 15, though only three came after halftime.
Game Notes
- Agot Makeer remained out due to concussion protocol.
- South Carolina has not lost back-to-back games since the 2018–19 season.
- Okot earned her seventh double-double of the year, tying Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers for the national lead.
- Turnovers were even, despite Louisville entering with a strong +6.6 margin.
- South Carolina was 11–17 from the stripe, though they were 10–13 before Okot’s late 1–4 stretch.
- USC finished 14–25 on layups; Louisville went 10–16.
- Dawn Staley’s outfit of the night: a black sweater with stars.
- Attendance at the KFC Yum! Center was 10,012.
- South Carolina returns home Sunday to face North Carolina Central.
