CLEVELAND – South Carolina women's basketball guard Raven Johnson nearly quit basketball because of Iowa star Caitlin Clark.

In the Final Four last season, Clark waved off Johnson when the Gamecocks guard was wide open, choosing not to defend her in a moment that went viral on social media. Johnson passed the ball away instead of taking the wide open shot, and the Hawkeyes eventually beat the Gamecocks, 77-74.

Ahead of the rematch between No. 1 seed South Carolina (37-0) and No. 1 seed Iowa (34-4) on Sunday (3 p.m., ABC) for the national championship, Clark was complimentary of Johnson's growth in the year since.

"I think Raven's had a tremendous year," Clark said Saturday. "I think not only from a shooting perspective, but as the point guard of a team, as the guard of a team, she's been a true leader. She's led that team."

Johnson watched replays of the loss to Iowa over 100 times and wanted to quit playing basketball. She said she doesn't blame Clark for choosing not to defend her and said the move motivated her to work as hard she did over the offseason.

"I think she's shooting over 50 percent in her last five games, has shot it over 40 percent all year," Clark said. "That just speaks to her work ethic. She got in the gym, and she got better, and I admire that. I think that's what makes great players great. And that's exactly what she did."

Evan Gerike covers South Carolina women's basketball for the Greenville News. Email him at egerike@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanGerike.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: How Iowa's Caitlin Clark complimented South Carolina's Raven Johnson