CLEVELAND – Raven Johnson guarded Caitlin Clark near half court as Clark dribbled out the clock, waiting for the last shot of the first half.

Then Johnson knocked the ball loose, stealing it from Clark. The South Carolina women's basketball sophomore point guard flew down the court for an easy layup. Johnson's first points of the game gave the No. 1 seed Gamecocks (37-0) a 49-46 lead going into halftime of the NCAA championship game against No. 1 seed Iowa (34-4) on Sunday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Johnson held Clark to only three points in the second quarter after the National Player of the Year went off for 18 points in the first quarter.

It was the Gamecocks' largest lead of the first half after falling behind by as many as 11 points. It was also a poetic way to end the first half. A year ago, Johnson was waved off by Clark at the 3-point line in the 2023 Final Four game that ended South Carolina's season. The clip went viral, and Johnson wanted to quit basketball after the season ended.

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But she didn't and now she has led the Gamecocks back to the national championship game after they fell short last season. Johnson has famously dubbed this as her "revenge season" as South Carolina pursues its third national championship. The Gamecocks are playing in their fourth straight Final Four.

Johnson scored 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting in South Carolina's win in the Final Four against NC State. She added five assists, three steals and two rebounds in the 78-59 win. She is averaging 8.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists as a sophomore. Her 3-point shooting also improved from 24.1% her freshman year to 36.8% this season.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Raven Johnson gets steal and score off Caitlin Clark in NCAA championship