Top-5 Matchup at Colonial Life Arena Sunday

Gameday Information
Doors Open: 2 p.m. | 1:30 p.m. for Fast Break Pass
Parking: University-controlled lots open at noon

South Carolina Gamecocks
Head Coach: Dawn Staley
Top Scorer: Joyce Edwards (20.2)
Top Rebounder: Madina Okot (10.7)

Vanderbilt Commodores
Head Coach: Shea Ralph
Top Scorer: Mikayla Blakes (24.8)
Top Rebounder: Sacha Washington (8.0)

Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina’s success comes from its control of the paint. For the season, the Gamecocks are second in the nation with 48.3 paint points per game. The Gamecocks are out-scoring SEC teams in the paint by 11.3 points per game and ranked teams by 7.7 points per game.

• The Gamecocks’ half-court defense has been its bread an butter, holding opponents to just 31.9 percent shooting in half-court sets. South Carolina is third in the nation and second in the SEC allowing just 0.72 points per shot in the half court.

• South Carolina’s transition game is among the best in the nation, ranking sixth (3rd in SEC) with 1.27 points per shot in transition. The Gamecocks are 13th in the country in points per shot in the half court (1.04).

• All five Gamecock starters average double-figure points against ranked opponents. Gamecock veterans Raven and Tessa Johnson elevate their scoring in ranked games with Tessa netting 14.5 points per game and Raven not far behind at 12.5 in six games against the nation’s best.

• Sophomore Joyce Edwards has scored in double figures every game this season, including a team-best 11 games with at least 20 points. She has hit the 20-point plateau twice through six SEC outings.

• Senior Raven Johnson continues to be the engine that powers the Gamecocks’ success. In her first three seasons, she conducted the show – ranking fifth in program history in career assists. This season, her own scoring has taken center stage in SEC play. She is second on the team and 16th in the league with 14.0 points per SEC game, during which she is shooting 53.1 percent to rank second in the conference.

• Senior Ta’Niya Latson has filled the stat sheet this season, ranking among the SEC’s top 15 in five categories. Her 15.4 points per game are 14th, and her career-best .492 field goal percentage is ninth. She is the Gamecocks’ top free throw shooter at 80.0 percent (7th in SEC). Latson has been distributing as well, ranking 14th in the league with 3.8 assists per game and sixth with a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio.

• The Gamecock bench has been growing throughout the season. The six players who traditionally have not started average 18.2 points and 12.8 rebounds per SEC game.

By the Numbers
+5.0 – South Carolina has a +5.0 turnover margin in SEC play.

9 – Freshman Alicia Tournebize put her stamp on Thursday’s game with nine points in just 14 minutes on the court.

54.2 – Raven Johnson is shooting 54.2 percent from the field against ranked opponents this season.

The Vanderbilt Series
The Gamecocks are 24-21 all-time against Vanderbilt with a 19-2 record in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09). South Carolina won the last 18 meetings but both teams were ranked in just one of those matchups. This is the first meeting with both teams in the top five.

Last season, South Carolina scored an 82-54 win on Feb. 23 in Nashville with sharp shooting and stingy defense in the first and third quarters. Joyce Edwards posted a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double.

Two weeks later the teams met in the 2025 SEC Tournament quarterfinals in Greenville, S.C. (Mar. 7). The Gamecocks scored 48 points in the first half – 24 in each quarter – and held Vandy to just eight in the second quarter for a commanding halftime lead and an 84-63 victory. South Carolina shot 54.7 percent for the game.

That’s So Raven
Senior point guard Raven Johnson has been at the tip of the spear for the Gamecocks on both sides of the ball and has led the team to nothing but winning.

In Johnson’s fourth full season, South Carolina is 126-7 (.947) with her in the lineup (missed one game each in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons), including a 38-5 mark (.884) against ranked teams. Her three complete seasons feature three trips to the Final Four, including a National Championship (2024) and runner-up finish (2025), three SEC Regular-Season titles and three SEC Tournament championships in the three full seasons of her career.

Johnson is fifth in program history in career assists (519 – 4th is Martha Parker, 543) and fifth in the category for SEC play (187 – 4th in La’Keisha Sutton, 193). She owns three of the top seven single-season assist-to-turnover ratios in program history, including a program-record 3.33 mark in SEC play in 2024-25. Her current career 2.87 A:TO (519:181) is well ahead of the current program record of 2.55 by WNBA veteran Tyasha Harris (2017-20).

This season, Johnson is sixth in the SEC in assists per game (5.2), including a pair of double-digit assist games. She is fifth in the nation and second in the SEC with a 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. Her stat stuffing includes a career-best 10.1 points per game, to go with 4.3 rebounding and 1.6 steals averages. She is shooting 50.6 percent from the field, including 35.3 percent from 3-point range – both career-best numbers. Against ranked opponents, her numbers rise to 12.5 points per game on 54.2 percent shooting, 44.4 percent from 3-point range, and 4.7 rebounds per game.

In SEC action, Johnson has been especially assertive on offense with her 14.0 points per conference game coming in second on the team and 16th in the league. She ranks second in the SEC in field goal percentage (.531) in conference games..

Johnson has a pair of double-doubles this season in two different ways – 11 points, 11 assists vs. Bowling Green; 14 points, 11 rebounds vs. #8/10 Southern Cal.

It’s T-Time
Junior guard Tessa Johnson has shaken off her “Tournament Tessa” moniker to bring “Trusted Tessa” out every time she steps on the court and on both sides of the ball while adapting to a starting role this season.

After an offseason focused on her physical conditioning and how nutrition multiplies that effort, Johnson is logging 28.8 minutes per game and her scoring and efficiency have risen to career-best levels.

With an SEC-best .459 3-point percentage, Johnson is eighth in the nation, and her 2.5 made 3s per game are fifth in the league. She averages a career-best 2.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds.

Johnson’s 13.6 points per game are fourth on the team, and the mark includes 14.5 points per game against ranked opponents, which is second-best on the squad.

Johnson has built steadily year over year, beginning with a freshman year that saw her shine in the most crucial moments of the team’s undefeated run to the 2024 National Championship. She averaged 14.0 points on 58.8 percent shooting in the final weekend of the season, including a team-best 19 points in the title game to earn a spot on the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team.