Sophomore Tessa Johnson drops 2-word reaction to sister’s wholesome snap after South Carolina’s SEC title

Tessa Johnson is riding the high from winning another SEC Tournament championship with South Carolina. The guard's sophomore season has been going well, as she averages 8.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists, an improvement from last year.

On Sunday, the Gamecocks defeated No. 1 Texas 64-45 to lift their ninth conference tournament trophy, and the Albertville, Minnesota, native's family was present at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena to support her. Johnson's sister, Claudia, shared the family's visit to Greenville, South Carolina, for the game with an Instagram post.

"☺️," she wrote in the caption.

The first image in the photo dump was Claudia and Tessa Johnson posing together after the game with confetti strewn all over the floor.

"Love you 💋," the sophomore guard wrote in the comments.

Tessa's comment (Via Instagram/@caudiajohnson24)

Tessa Johnson and South Carolina continue winning streak

After the undefeated season run last year, South Carolina came into the 2024-25 season with huge expectations. For the most part, the Gamecocks have lived up to the hype, wrapping up the regular season with just three losses.

During South Carolina's season finale against Kentucky, Tessa Johnson led the team with 16 points and four rebounds. With the 78-66 win, the Gamecocks won their fourth straight regular-season conference title. In the postgame presser, coach Dawn Staley praised Johnson, saying:

"Her defense was on point. She actually played Georgia Amoore the way we needed to play her. The discipline it took for the way we needed to play her."

While she is in her second year at South Carolina, Tessa Johnson is yet to start a game and is playing an average of 21.4 minutes per contest. Last season she was a starter in two matchups and averaged 17.8 minutes per game.

This is all within Dawn Staley's grand strategy of assigning specific roles for each player on her roster, and it has worked well for the Gamecocks. However, it requires sacrifice from these high-caliber players, and Staley spoke about it during an interview with WSLAM last year.

"Tessa [Johnson could’ve been like], I could play with the best of them," she said. "Let me get some of Breezy’s time. Let me get some of Raven’s time. [But] they didn’t.

"Actually, the youngsters just allowed the older players to guide them to the point where they were so confident entering the basketball game that they knew that they were going to make an impact."

With each player excelling in their roles, South Carolina is set to make an attempt at defending its 2024 national championship win from next week.