March basketball in the SEC rarely lacks drama. Saturday delivered two games that showcased something even more valuable this time of year in stars who refused to blink when the stakes climb.
Madison Booker and Raven Johnson answered that call in different ways, but with the same result. Booker seized control late to push Texas past Mississippi, while Johnson delivered a season-best performance to lead South Carolina past LSU in the SEC Tournament semifinals at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Now the stage is set for a championship showdown Sunday between two of the conference’s heavyweights — Texas and South Carolina — fueled by the leadership, confidence and big-game composure of the guards who carried them there.
Booker delivers, lifts Texas into SEC title game
Pressure doesn’t rattle Madison Booker. If anything, it brings out her best.
The Texas junior guard has made a habit of rising when games tighten, and Saturday night was another example. With Mississippi surging late in the third quarter of an SEC Tournament semifinal, Booker didn’t panic. She took control.
When Mississippi’s Denim DeShields drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cap a 13-4 run and cut Texas’ once-comfortable lead to 57-55, the momentum inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena shifted. Texas had led by as many as 16 in the second quarter. Suddenly, the game was tense again.
Booker calmly walked to the sideline, gathered her teammates and took over the huddle.
It was the kind of moment normally handled by Texas head coach Vic Schaefer. Instead, Booker stepped into the role, delivering encouragement, direction and a bit of tough love before the fourth quarter began.
Schaefer noticed.
“Nobody was mad, nobody took it the wrong way,” Schaefer said postgame. “They were all engaged. … As a coach, you want to see accountability. … That’s growth with my team. … That [Texas] team two months ago might not have been able to. First of all, I don’t know that anybody would have grabbed everybody. Second, I don’t know that they would have taken it the way they took it today.”
What Booker said worked.
With Mississippi hanging around midway through the fourth quarter, Booker took over the game. She attacked the rim, controlled the tempo and led the charge as Texas pulled away for an 85-68 victory.
Booker finished with a career-high 31 points, scoring 19 after halftime. She added 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals, securing her seventh double-double of the season and her 31st double-digit scoring game.
Her late surge helped Texas hold Mississippi to just 13 points in the fourth quarter — the Rebels’ lowest-scoring period of the night — and secured the Longhorns’ second appearance in the SEC Tournament championship game. Texas will face a familiar opponent Sunday in South Carolina, the third meeting between the two teams this season and seventh in two years.
“My whole message to them was just stay poised,” Booker said postgame about the moment before the fourth quarter. “Let’s just figure out what we need to do better, let’s come to the huddle, let’s regroup, let’s think about our identity, which is getting stops.”
Booker had seen Mississippi rallies before.
The two programs have played a string of tight games recently. Texas edged Mississippi 67-64 in Austin this January and 61-58 in Oxford last January. The Longhorns also defeated the Rebels 70-63 in last year’s SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
In nearly every one of those games, Booker delivered in the biggest moments.
In January’s win in Austin, she scored 15 points, including a key jumper that pushed Texas ahead by five. In Oxford last season, she hit a clutch shot with 13 seconds remaining after Texas erased an 8-point deficit in the final five minutes.
Saturday was more of the same. Booker scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and became the first player this century to record at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a women’s SEC Tournament game.
Mississippi head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin could only smile afterward.
“I feel like every time Booker plays us, it’s personal, because she’s from the state,” McPhee-McCuin said postgame with a smile. “Sometimes I don’t want to even shake her hand because I’m like, ‘Why you went there?’ [smiles]. You could have did this with us.
“When I think about our games with her, we played them at our place [in 2025]. We had them beat. She missed a shot, follows up, gets a rebound. Like, she always breaks it open every time we play them. I think it’s a Mississippi thing. … She’s just a special talent.”
Booker said the way she attacked Saturday reflected growth in her game and the advice she has taken from Schaefer.
“I feel like Coach Schaefer has kind of pushed me, just being aggressive at any moment, right when the game starts to attack the basket,” Booker said. “I think in prior years I settled a lot for the midrange [shots], kind of comfortable. I’ve been basically uncomfortable in the moments .. and I think that was my mindset the whole game, especially fourth quarter, was just get to the paint, get to the paint.
“It worked out good. I guess he [Schaefer] is right about it. Just keep attacking. … I just wanted to win.”
Texas followed Booker’s lead.
The Longhorns, who carried a 42-32 lead into halftime, shot 52.5% from the floor, 50% from 3-point range and 86.4% from the free throw line in the game. Kyla Oldacre added 19 points and eight rebounds, while Jordan Lee scored 14 points with three assists.
Mississippi finished shooting 39.1% from the field and a perfect 13-for-13 from the free-throw line. The Rebels actually led in points off turnovers, second-chance points, fast-break points and bench scoring, but struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 5 of 19 3-point attempts.
SEC Tournament Day 3: A big upset shakes things up
Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women’s Sports Daily
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women’s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women’s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!
Raven Johnson’s big night powers South Carolina past LSU
Raven Johnson reminded everyone exactly why South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley trusts her with the keys to the team’s offense.
The veteran point guard delivered a career-high 22 points and controlled the game from start to finish as South Carolina held off LSU, 83-77, in the SEC Tournament semifinals Saturday before an energetic Gamecocks crowd at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Johnson also dished out eight assists and grabbed three rebounds, guiding the Gamecocks into their seventh straight SEC Tournament championship game, where Texas will be waiting. South Carolina is now one win away from Staley’s 10th conference tournament title with the Gamecocks.
Johnson’s scoring grabbed headlines, but her leadership and confidence were just as important.
“I’ve been doing this,” Johnson said after the victory. “I just added a little bit more to my game, which is scoring, and I think that started in the summer. … Going from last season, I didn’t like the way I played and approached the game. I think I approach the game a little different, and I’m seeing what I put in, the work. That’s what Coach [Staley] always tells me. You want to produce, you got to put in the work. I did that over the summer.”
Johnson’s shooting from deep proved especially important. She tied her career high with four 3-pointers, going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, a notable step in a part of her game that has fluctuated during her career.
She shot 24.1% from three during her sophomore season, improved to 36.8% during South Carolina’s 2024 national championship run, dipped to 29.5% last season, and has now climbed to 40% after Saturday’s contest.
Staley said the improvement came from renewed focus.
“Raven [Johnson] went to work in the gym,” Staley said. “After that [championship season in 2024], she got happy. She did not put the work in, and she knew it. I had to remind her during that year, ‘You didn’t put the work in. You can’t get it back now, so you just have to suffer through this year and figure out how we can continue to win, and you continue to make plays when it’s there.'”
“Three years ago [or] last year, she would have never shot six threes, ever,” Staley added. “Even if she was open. Even if she felt good about it.”
Johnson said the mission is bigger than any one area of the game.
“Whatever it takes to win,” Johnson said. “If I got to defend, if I got to score, if I’ve got to rebound, that’s what I’ll do.”
Her backcourt partner, Florida State transfer Ta’Niya Latson, wasn’t surprised by the performance.
“That’s Raven Johnson,” Latson said postgame. “It’s been a long time coming. She’s been doing what I been knowing she can do. To see her flourish means a lot. I came here to win games, and Raven’s a winner.”
LSU struck early behind Mikaylah Williams, but Johnson responded with a personal five-point burst, including a clutch wing 3-pointer that pushed South Carolina ahead 46-42. The Gamecocks later built their largest lead when Tessa Johnson hit a jumper to make it 57-50 before South Carolina carried a 59-54 edge into the fourth quarter.
South Carolina needed every bit of Johnson’s poise down the stretch.
The Gamecocks led by seven entering the fourth quarter before LSU surged with a 6-0 run to pull within one. Joyce Edwards and Madina Okot steadied South Carolina with key buckets and free throws to rebuild a 69-63 lead.
LSU continued to push. Mikaylah Williams drilled her second 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 81-77 with 8.9 seconds remaining. Latson answered with a final layup to seal the victory.
South Carolina placed four players in double figures.
Latson scored 19 points, Edwards recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Tessa Johnson added 11 points, five rebounds and three assists.
For Latson, playing in her first SEC Tournament after three high-scoring seasons at Florida State, the experience has required adjustment.
“I’ve been real patient this year,” Latson said. “I came here to play with other great players. Playing with a point guard like Raven, just making myself better and coming to play under Coach Staley, just to be a better two-way player.”
