Ta'Niya Latson and Tessa Johnson found their groove on Thursday, each scoring 19 points to lead South Carolina to a 91-82 exhibition win over North Carolina.
North Carolina did not play several of its key players, including Reniya Kelly and Blanca Thomas, but the Tar Heels gave the Gamecocks a challenge in the first half before fading.
One of the things Dawn Staley said she wanted to see Thursday night was for Tessa Johnson to be more aggressive. She got her wish.
Against Anderson, Tessa had just five points on 2-7 shooting, including 1-5 from three. It took her less than eight minutes on Thursday to equal that output. South Carolina ran plays to get her involved, and she rewarded the confidence by scoring on layups, midrange jumpers, and threes.
Johnson finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and two assists, and she hit 3-5 from three. She also had six rebounds against Anderson, and her ability to grab some boards is going to be crucial as she steps into Bree Hall's role.
NEW! Message board for South Carolina Women's Basketball! 🏀
The connection between Tessa and Latson seemed to grow as the game went on. Latson missed Tessa a couple of times early on, but in the fourth quarter, Latson was finding Johnson for open threes.
Joyce Edwards added 12 points and nine rebounds, and Madina Okot had 11 points and six rebounds.