Getty Image / Gregory Shamus
Last year, superstar Caitlin Clark and Iowa stunned the basketball world when they upset heavily-favored and undefeated South Carolina in the Final Four. But, South Carolina and guard Raven Johnson refused to repeat that scenario in Sunday’s national title game, beating Iowa, 87-75.
It was personal for South Carolina, but especially for Johnson. Last year, Iowa dared her to shoot from the outside, with Caitlin Clark taunting her when Johnson had the ball on the perimeter.
Look at this clip from last year.
That steal to end the half was personal for Raven Johnson pic.twitter.com/7q9V3Zh2zV
— Caroline (@_supcaroline) April 7, 2024
ESPN has noted in the broadcasts throughout the tournament that Johnson used that as motivation to work on her jump shot for her sophomore season this year.
Ironically, Raven Johnson shot the ball poorly once again this year. She was just 1/11 from the field and 0/4 from three-point range. But, her defense on the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in Caitlin Clark was the difference in the game.
After Caitlin Clark went off for an incredible 18 points in the first quarter to give Iowa a 27-20 lead, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley made some adjustments. One of those adjustments was giving Raven Johnson the task of guarding Caitlin Clark a lot more than she did in the first quarter.
That paid off in a big way. Clark only had 12 points the rest of the game, as Raven Johnson was tremendous on defense. Even though she wasn’t knocking down her shots, she was still getting her revenge. Her steal and layup at against Clark at the end of the 2nd quarter set the tone for the remainder of the game for the Gamecocks.
Raven Johnson's defense on Caitlin Clark 🔒 pic.twitter.com/RrZg0BgBbx
— MrBeardedXXL (@MrBeardedXXL) April 7, 2024
It wasn’t just the splash plays, either. Johnson did a great job at both keeping Caitlin Clark out of the lane and away from her patented step-back three while moving left. With South Carolina’s advantage everywhere else on the court, Johnson making it so Clark couldn’t score efficiently was likely the difference in the game.
Caitlin Clark waves off Raven Johnson while she was taking a shot last year in the playoffs. Johnson became a meme. Mocked all over social media. She came back and put Caitlin Clark in hell for the championship game. That’s a champion.
— David Dennis Jr. (@DavidDTSS) April 7, 2024
Congrats to Raven Johnson and South Carolina on an undefeated national championship season.