CLEVELAND (AP) — South Carolina doesn’t feel like it has five starters.
The Gamecocks think they have 10.
Maybe more.
And one of them was playing prep basketball in Minnesota only a year ago.
Coach Dawn Staley used that depth to wear down South Carolina’s opponents with relentless pressure and pace.
Not even Caitlin Clark and Iowa — not exactly slowpokes themselves — could keep up. The proof was on the floor for all to see during the unbeaten Gamecocks’ 87-75 win over Clark and the Hawkeyes on Sunday in the NCAA championship.
South Carolina’s reserves, led by guard and Minnesota native Tessa Johnson, outscored Iowa’s 37-0, offering a reminder that while there is more parity in the women’s game than ever, the Gamecocks currently have no parallel.
Johnson's 19 points off the bench led the Gamecocks in the title game win in Cleveland.
It was last March when Johnson scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead St. Michael-Albertville to a 71-70 win over Hopkins at Williams Arena in the 2023 Minnesota girl's basketball AAAA final.
She's already surpassed that as a college freshman.
"My teammates are just encouraging, always having my back, telling me 'play how you play,' so I just did that," Johnson told ESPN's Holly Rowe moments after the game ended.
"That" was making seven of 11 shots from the field, including three from beyond the arc.
Two of those three-pointers came in the pivotal third quarter when the Gamecocks started to take control of the game.
She also had four rebounds, an assist, and a steal against the Hawkeyes.
"I don't feel pressure because the team that I have, and the coaches that I have, no matter if I make a mistake, they're always going to encourage me, and they're never going to let me give up on myself," she said.
Johnson came to South Carolina with a boatload of accolades.
She was Minnesota's Ms. Basketball her senior year, a McDonald’s All-America, and a member of the All-USA TODAY Team.
Johnson racked up more than 2,100 points in her prep career for the Knights, even though she missed her sophomore season with a broken left leg.
She was the 25th-ranked player in her recruiting class.
Adding to all that is her selection to the Final Four all-tournament team.
That team includes UConn's Paige Bueckers, who played her prep hoops at Minnesota's Hopkins High School.
There were three games in this year’s women’s tournament when one team’s reserves outscored their counterparts by 30 or more. South Carolina was responsible for all three, according to STATS, also accomplishing the feat against North Carolina and Presbyterian.