Tessa Johnson scores career-high 28 points to lead South Carolina over JuJu Watkins, USC in thriller

No. 1 South Carolina survived a hard-fought battle against No. 3 USC with an 89-85 victory in Sunday's "The Real SC" showdown. Although USC star JuJu Watkins had the spotlight headed into the game, as the projected No. 1 player of the 2027 WNBA Draft, the day belonged to South Carolina senior guard Tessa Johnson, who registered a career-high 28 points.

Johnson is playing some of the best basketball of her career, which is particularly impressive given there is no true point guard on the roster so she is handling a significant amount of point-guard duties. Her performance on Sunday, coach Dawn Staley said, should raise her WNBA stock.

"I hope all the WNBA scouts are watching her because she's adding to her game to make her an incredible guard that can swing," Staley said postgame. "She can handle the basketball. Obviously, I think she's probably the best shooter in the country, and now you can add scoring because she's attacking the rim right now as well."

Staley picked up her 25th victory against an AP Top 5 opponent, and the Gamecocks now hold a perfect 6-0 record in the all-time series against the Trojans.

As for Watkins, this was her first game against a ranked team since tearing her ACL during the 2025 NCAA Tournament, so she had this specific matchup circled on her calendar. South Carolina spoiled it for her, as the defense held Watkins to 8 of 20 from the field -- although she still managed to finish the day with a team-high 25 points.

Jordan Lee made the winning play for the Gamecocks

Despite USC throwing the first punch, the Gamecocks ended the first quarter on top and held a modest lead for the rest of the game. They had a 12-point advantage, their largest of the game, with four minutes remaining after a10-0 run. But USC kept fighting and Watkins hit a long two that cut the deficit to 85-87 with 46 seconds left on the clock. Her USC co-star Jazzy Davidson also made a big play when she stole the ball from former Texas guard Jordan Lee with 18 seconds remaining.

But then came the play of the game. 

Lee recovered from the turnover and ran the court to block Watkins' game-tying attempt out of bounds. Although she had a quiet afternoon on the stat sheet -- just six points and one rebound -- Lee stepped up when it mattered the most. The ball was originally awarded to USC, but South Carolina won the appeal, a decision that pretty much sealed the deal.

Besides Johnson, South Carolina's other top contributors included Joyce Edwards with 20 points and 10 rebounds, as well as Chloe Kitts with 15 points and 12 boards.

For USC, other standouts besides Watkins included freshman Saniyah Hall, with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Jazzy Davidson, last year's Freshman of the Year, had 14 points but a rough outing with only four field goals on 14 attempts. 

South Carolina is thriving despite a tough non-conference schedule with three wins against ranked opponents already. The Gamecocks, 4-0 overall, have games against FGCU and Providence before taking on No. 4 UConn on November 24. USC fell to 3-1 overall, but coach Lindsay Gottlieb is going to make sure the Trojans use this loss as fuel for the rest of the season. 

"Obviously it's disappointing to lose. We didn't come here to finish second in a great game," she said. "But I feel good about the fact that if this is where we are in November, we will stay locked in and get better."

The Trojans have a great opportunity to bounce back with a game against Baylor -- a team receiving votes in the AP Tp 25 poll -- next Friday. 

Missed free throws hurt USC

One of the most painful stats for the Trojans? They lost by four points and missed nine free throws.

USC went 19 of 28 from the charity line, which translates to just 68%. While the Gamecocks deserve credit for their victory, it is clear the Trojans also hurt themselves. Watkins shot 88.2% from the free-throw line through the first three games of the season, but she went 8 of 12 on Sunday.

Here is the breakdown of USC's free-throw attempts against South Carolina:

Jerzy Robinson will be dangerous

Jerzy Robinson, a top-10 freshman, came off the bench and quickly became the spark the Gamecocks needed to finish the first quarter with the lead. She ended the day with 11 points, five rebounds and three assists, but her impact goes well beyond the stat sheet.

The freshman showed her strength and physicality while having the tough task of defending Watkins. Coincidentally, both Watkins and Robinson are Sierra Canyon High School alumni. Notably, Robinson fouled out with under two minutes remaining, which benefited the Trojans in their comeback attempt.

There is a fourth USC player to worry about

Watkins, Davidson and Hall have been the Big Three for USC this season, so Staley shared that South Carolina's defensive game plan heavily focused on limiting them. In the first two quarters, the Gamecocks held them to a combined 19 points, including 10 points by Watkins. However, USC junior guard Kennedy Smith -- who entered Sunday averaging 8.7 points per game -- stepped up and registered 15 points while going 6 of 8 from the field. During her halftime interview, Staley said she just had to be "satisfied" with the effort her Gamecocks were showing.

Smith went scoreless in the second half with only had two field goal attempts, but she also finished the day contributing five rebounds and five assists. As the season continues, Smith could become a bigger problem for opponents who will have their hands full with the Big Three.

"I still feel like I'm working on leadership myself," Smith said. "Some days I want to be quiet, don't want to talk as much. But having the role that I have on this team, I have to use my voice in certain aspects."

Is the 'Real SC' series over?

At the end of her postgame press conference, South Carolina senior Chloe Kitts played into the rivalry of "the Real SC" series.

"Now you guys can stop asking who the real USC is because we are," she said.

This two-game series began last year at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. South Carolina won that first matchup 69–52 and officially swept the series this Sunday. Although the Trojans have not managed to beat the Gamecocks yet, this rivalry has been entertaining. When asked postgame if the series will continue, Staley seemed interested but did not have a concrete answer. 

"There's nothing on paper right now," she said.

Gottlieb also said she would "absolutely" like to extend the series.