By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
South Carolina junior guard Tessa Johnson lit up the No. 7 LSU women’s basketball team in the Gamecocks’ 79-72 win on Valentine’s Day in Baton Rouge. Johnson finished the night with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
“She was our offense (tonight),” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said after the win over LSU. “I thought Tessa did a great job of getting herself open and square to the basket. We’re very fortunate that she was very efficient because we needed to stay close, especially with the type of crowd they had.”
Johnson was nearly unstoppable in the first half. She scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three-point range.
In the third quarter, Johnson finished through contact near the rim and converted the and-one free throw to push her nightly total to 19 points.
LSU head coach Kim Mulkey had enough. Shortly after Johnson’s tough basket, Mulkey called timeout with 5:15 remaining in the third quarter. During the timeout, Mulkey repeatedly asked her team in the huddle, “Who can guard Tessa?!”
One hand shot up. It was freshman guard Bella Hines. So, she stayed in the game.
"Who can guard Tessa" – Kim Mulkey 😭 pic.twitter.com/pkGPb20nCk
— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) February 15, 2026
The freshman out of Albuquerque, New Mexico responded to the challenge. In her limited 6:26 of action, Hines locked Johnson up. Johnson was held to only two shot attempts (0-2) with Hines as her primary defender. After the loss, Mulkey said she was proud of the Hines’ fierceness.
“I saw a kid that I need to play more,” Mulkey said after the loss. “She needs to take away some of the minutes of some of them ‘cause she got out there and guarded Tessa. She wasn’t afraid to bow up to her.”
Evidence of dispute! Argue with this. 😌🤝 https://t.co/bZ2lQsXNUq pic.twitter.com/npBkOFTUSr
— KenG (@KenG_Lewis) February 16, 2026
In addition to locking down Johsnon, Hines also came up clutch on the offensive end, scoring six points on 3-of-4 shooting. She finished with a team-best plus-minus of +5.
“She made shots, she had a lot of energy and she has my respect,” Mulkey added.
It was a difficult night for LSU guards outside of senior Flau’jae Johnson. Sophomore Jada Richard shot 1-of-10 from the field, while junior MiLaysia Fulwiley finished 1-for-8.
Moving forward, LSU’s loss may lead to a larger role for Hines. Through 26 games, she is averaging 12 minutes per game, but that number could rise soon.
LSU (22-4, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) will travel to Oxford to take on No. 17 Ole Miss (20-6, 7-4 SEC) on Thursday at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion (8 p.m., ESPN).
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