NCAA women's basketball: How South Carolina gutted out a win over Texas in tight, turnover-filled SEC battle

On Thursday night, No. 2 South Carolina got revenge over No. 4 Texas with a 68-65 win in Columbia. This rematch from the Players Era championship in November was a messy affair, but it was just another example of how tough the SEC conference is.

This was their sixth straight meeting as top-five opponents. South Carolina has won four of their last six encounters, but Gamecocks' guard Raven Johnson pointed out how hard it is to compete against the Longhorns.

"Texas is a really good team, they bring it every night," Johnson said during her broadcast postgame interview. "I'm pretty sure we are going to see them again in the SEC Tournament and I'm pretty sure they are going to bring it again. This is just our conference. Our conference is one of the best, so this tells you a lot about women's basketball and what the SEC brings."

Joyce Edwards led South Carolina with 14 points and 8 rebounds, but it was a balanced effort on offense, with all five starters scoring double figures. However, defense was the star of the show for both teams. The pressure was on and taking care of the ball became a very difficult task. As Dawn Staley put it during the postgame press conference, her team "gutted it out."

Here are some things that stood out from this matchup:

The teams combined for 42 turnovers

The Longhorns have been one of the top teams in assist/turnover ratio all season, but lately they have struggled taking care of the ball. They registered a season-high 17 turnovers in the loss to LSU, and their struggles were amplified against South Carolina. A particularly frustrating period for the Longhorns was committing five turnovers in the last two minutes of the second quarter. They had led by as many as nine points in the first half, but the way Texas entered halftime left a lot to be desired.

Texas gave up 23 points off 22 turnovers by the end of the night. South Carolina didn't do much better in this area. In fact, the Gamecocks committed 20 turnovers, which is just one less than their season high against Florida on Jan. 4. Multiple of these were inbound turnovers.

Madina Okot's 3-pointer was a game-changer

One of the loudest moments of the game was when South Carolina senior center Madina Okot hit a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. She has only made two shots from beyond the arc all season, but this one came at a time when South Carolina needed every bucket they could get with the game being so tight. 

Since she doesn't usually shoot 3-pointers, Texas simply left Okot wide open. The bucket helped put the Gamecocks up 61-57 with about 3:30 remaining. When the ball went in, the entire crowd at Colonial Life Arena jumped out of their seats and Texas coach Vic Schaefer immediately called a timeout.

Jordan Lee's foul trouble really hurt Texas

After neither team led by more than three points in the third quarter, South Carolina found momentum in the fourth. Shortly after Okot's 3-pointer, Jordan Lee tried to spark Texas' offense again with a driving layup, but she wasn't around to help her team much longer. 

By halftime, Lee already had three fouls. She got her fourth with 3:40 left in the third quarter, and her final one with just under two minutes remaining in the game. On a related note...

Texas's offensive struggles continue

The Longhorns showed a lot of growth on offense earlier this season, but they have struggled against top SEC opponents. Lee in particular embraced a bigger role and has been one of the most consistent offensive players on the team, as well as one of their most efficient 3-point shooters. However, she only made a combined six field goals in the losses to LSU and South Carolina and hit two shots from beyond the arc, both of them against the Tigers. Notably, she had zero 3-point attempts against the Gamecocks. 

Although she hasn't been as productive recently, when she fouled out there was still time for Texas to make another push and she could have been a part of it. After all, Texas beat South Carolina in November with a clutch shot from Rori Harmon.

Harmon didn't get the game-winner this time but she did bounce back from a rough outing against LSU in which she sat on the bench the entire fourth quarter. The Texas point guard ended Thursday night with 16 points on 50% shooting, along with five rounds, five assists and three steals. Madison Booker led the Longhorns' efforts with 24 points while shooting 11 of 25.

Raven Johnson came in clutch

South Carolina had all five starters reach double figures, but Raven Johnson played like a veteran when her team needed her the most. She scored 10 points while registering six of her team's 10 total assists, which stood out in a game in which everyone struggled taking care of the ball. More importantly, she scored or assisted on 12 of South Carolina's 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Although the game wasn't officially over yet, it seemed Johnson sealed the deal when she was able to get past Harmon and score the bucket that put South Carolina up by two possessions with 23 seconds remaining.

Johnson even got the respect of Texas coach Vic Schaefer, who said postgame that she has been playing hard and inspiring her team's toughness.