SACRAMENTO — Nobody in the Golden 1 Center on Saturday expected a Sweet 16 game to feel like a Westlake High School reunion. But for two quarters, that’s exactly what it was.
Raven Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson — former high school teammates, lifelong best friends, and now South Carolina’s most dangerous backcourt — combined for 34 of the Gamecocks’ 47 first-half points, shooting a combined 80 percent from the field and 80 percent from three in a performance that left Oklahoma with no answers and everyone else in awe.
“We just had a really good game. I feel like that’s one of our best games playing together, especially at this level,” Latson said postgame. “I’m just super proud of [Raven], and she came out ready to play.”
A Redemption Tour for Latson
For Latson, Saturday was deeply personal. In January’s overtime loss to Oklahoma in Norman, she had shot a miserable 1-for-10 from the field — one of the low points of her South Carolina tenure. Five weeks later, in the game that mattered most, she responded with 28 points on 7-of-11 shooting and a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line.
“I was feeling confident, I was feeling like myself, I woke up on the right side of the bed today,” Latson said. “I just was ready to go out there and play my game.”
Dawn Staley, characteristically, refused to be fully satisfied — even in jest.
“I mean, it’s impressive, but I think she had 30 in the second round last year. She’s shortchanging us,” Staley said with a smile. “She only had 28? She couldn’t get two more points?”
The playful dig only underscores how high Staley’s expectations have climbed for her star transfer — and how fully Latson has grown into them.
Johnson’s Evolution, On Full Display
While Latson provided the offensive fireworks, Raven Johnson’s 18-point performance told a different kind of story — one about growth, sacrifice, and a career finally being fully celebrated.
In previous seasons, Johnson willingly accepted the fifth-option role as South Carolina built around dominant frontcourt players. This season, with the roster rebuilt around her, she’s operating as the second or third scoring option and manufacturing her own shot with a confidence that has taken years to cultivate.
“Raven’s been through a lot,” Staley said. “She sacrificed a lot of her beginnings and actually some of her end of her South Carolina career by just being a giver. Today was just beautiful to see, just her taking those shots.”
Johnson’s 16 first-half points set a new NCAA Tournament career game-high — a milestone that arrived in the most fitting setting possible, with her best friend right beside her.
“When I see the ball go in for her, I’m like, ‘Yes,’ like my eyes get big,” Johnson said. “Ta’Niya, I think, she deserves everything that’s coming her way. I think this is just the beginning.”
The Friendship Behind the Performance
What makes this backcourt pairing so compelling goes far beyond basketball. Latson described Johnson’s mother texting her the morning of the game to encourage her — a detail that captures just how intertwined their families have become.
“She texted me this morning and told me to go out there and play my heart out. That’s something I cherish deeply,” Latson said. “To see her out there in the stands with my mom, that means a lot.”
Playing alongside Johnson again, even after years apart while Latson was at Florida State, still carries a surreal quality.
“Being on the sideline, being next to her, even in practice, it’s just like, ‘Dang, I’m playing with my best friend from high school,'” Latson said. “We cherish the moments that we have on the floor, and we hope to win a championship together. It’s just a blessing to be together in our last year together.”
The Second Half and What’s Next
As the game progressed, Johnson and Latson both deferred as Tessa Johnson and Joyce Edwards found their rhythm in the third quarter. The mark of a great team is recognizing when to step back and trust teammates — and South Carolina did exactly that, never relinquishing control of a game they owned from the opening tip.
But for context on just how good this backcourt can be together, Latson pointed to a moment that predates college entirely — the 2021 GEICO High School National Championship.
“She had like 25, I had like 26. It was like a monster game for both of us. The defense, we was turning everybody over,” Latson recalled.
Staley wants to see that defensive version of her senior guards in the Elite Eight on Monday. If Saturday was any indication, the best of this reunion may still be ahead.
