Diamond Johnson was the spark NC State needed for its comeback win over Louisville

Fourth quarter leads are temporary. Louisville found out that Diamonds are forever.

In this case that was Diamond Johnson, N.C. State’s sophomore guard.

The Wolfpack trailed the Cardinals by 16 points in the second half. Johnson, who transferred from Rutgers and came to N.C. State known for her scoring ability, had been struggling of late. The first three quarters against No. 3 Louisville were no exception. She missed her first eight shots from the floor.

One thing about Johnson, though, is she believes in herself. On her wrist, she wears a message written on her tape: ‘Nobody Can Stop You But You.’

That was her mindset heading into the fourth quarter. Johnson wouldn’t stop herself. Louisville couldn’t stop her either. She scored 14 of her team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter.

In the final frame, N.C. State outscored the Cardinals 31-8. And Johnson wouldn’t be denied.

“She gives us juice when she comes in,” Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore said. “Tonight she was able, in a lot of ways, take over the game.”

Johnson scored a layup to cut the Louisville lead to 10. No big deal after the way the Cardinals had dominated the game to that point. Minutes later, a triple put the home team up two and all of sudden Reynolds was alive. It wasn’t just Reynolds gaining life. Johnson was suddenly in a zone and nobody could slow the 5-5 Philadelphia native down.

Her next 3 put the Wolfpack up three. After that all the momentum shifted and Johnson, along with her teammates, were in attack mode.

There were times against Louisville that Johnson looked down at her wrist while she was on the bench.

“It just gives me a reminder of who I am,” Johnson said. “Don’t lose your confidence, just keep shooting. My shot wasn’t falling the first three quarters, so, just keeping confidence. That’s what it’s basically there for.”

When she struggled early, she kept confidence. Since she wasn’t scoring, she found other ways to stay engaged and help her team. She boxed out for rebounds, hustled on defense and that ultimately led to her shot falling.

“I do get frustrated,” Johnson admitted. “But I can be frustrated for long, I need to be here for my team. I knew my shot wasn’t going to be off for that long, so I just kept shooting it.”

Johnson averaged 17 points as a freshman at Rutgers a year ago, and was Second Team All-Big Ten. She started the first game of the year against South Carolina, finishing with just four points. Since that game she’s been a reserve, the spark Moore has needed off the bench, scoring in double figures 10 times.

Coming into the Louisville game, she was 5-20 in her previous two games, her frustration showing with each missed shot. But shooters shot. Johnson never stopped firing away and it paid off in the fourth.

She was 3-4 from 3 in the final eight minutes. Her shots got the rest of her teammates engaged.

“I love playing with Diamond,” said Jakia Brown-Turner, who scored 10 points in the fourth. “I know when she’s on, she’s on. Seeing her make those shots just brought extra energy.”

That’s a luxury Moore has with Johnson. He can bring a scorer averaging 12 points per game off the bench and never miss a beat. Jada Boyd was the ACC Sixth Player of the Year last season. She’s averaging seven points this season as a reserve. The award could go to N.C. State for a second straight season with the way Johnson’s played.

Thursday was the fourth time this season she’s led the team in scoring. It’s the sixth time this season she’s hit three or more 3-pointers in a game. Moore recruited Johnson out of high school and remembers where he was (at an N.C. State football game) when she called to inform him she was attending Rutgers instead.

“It was heartbreaking when we didn’t get her the first time,” Moore quipped.

Now that she’s here bringing the juice off the bench, she gives the veteran bunch someone who can score in bunches. Once she gets going, not even Moore can get her to slow down.

“There was one time with a minute and a half and I’m telling her to pull (it back),” Moore said. “I looked up and she’s putting her head down and shooting a leaner. In Philly they just play.”