Gamecocks Set for Elite Eight Action Monday Night

Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina is playing in its sixth-straight NCAA Elite Eight and 10th overall, including seventh in the last nine tournaments, which is tied for the most in the nation in that stretch. The Gamecocks are 7-2 all-time in Regional Championship games with Dawn Staley leading them to a 7-1 mark in those outings.

• The Gamecocks are 13-3 against ranked opponents as one of just three teams with double-digit ranked wins. Five Gamecocks average at least 12.0 points against ranked teams, including Madina Okot who averages a double-double in those games with 12.0 points and 11.2 rebounds. Her eight double-doubles against ranked teams leads the nation.

• South Carolina ranks third in the nation in field goal percentage at .509, and it has leveled up in NCAA Tournament action, hitting 53.1 percent to rank third at the event. The high-octane offense that sits third in the nation at 87.4 points per game leads the NCAA Tournament field with 99.3 points per game at the event.

• South Carolina is the top defensive team in the NCAA Tournament, holding opponents to just 31.6 percent shooting over the last two weeks. Its .347 field goal percentage defense on the season ranks sixth in the nation.

• Six Gamecocks average double-figure points in this year’s NCAA Tournament with all six shooting at least 50.0 percent at the event.

• Gamecock guards are a big part of the team’s paint presence, especially against ranked teams. The group accounts for 46.2 percent of the team’s paint points against ranked foes (18.9 ppg).

• Four Gamecocks average at least 5.0 rebounds in NCAA Tournament action so far this season. Okot leads the way at 11.7 per game with Joyce Edwards just behind at 9.0. Guard Tessa Johnson and freshman forward Alicia Tournebize round out the quartet with 5.3 each.

• Senior Raven Johnson’s leadership includes regularly meeting the moment. Against ranked opponents this season, her scoring and field goal percentages outpace her season marks with 12.0 points per game on 54.5 percent shooting, including 48.6 percent from 3-point range against the nation’s best teams.

By the Numbers
4 – Madina Okot needs four rebounds to become just the third Gamecock all-time to reach 400 in a season.

8 – Tessa Johnson needs eight points to reach 1,000 in her career.

The TCU Series
The Gamecocks and Horned Frogs have met just once before in women’s basketball. Then-No. 3 South Carolina posted an 85-52 win over then-No. 9 TCU on Dec. 8, 2024, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. The Gamecocks jumped out a 20-14 lead after the first quarter and were even more dominant in the second to take a 44-23 lead into halftime after shooting 56.7 percent in the opening 20 minutes.

Defensive Demon
For four seasons, senior point guard Raven Johnson has turned the nation’s and SEC’s best players into a shell of themselves with her defensive pressure The 2026 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, who was a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist, changes everything an opponent can accomplish just by her presence on the court.

Per Synergy, Johnson is second in the nation in defensive impact, lowering the Gamecocks’ points allowed to an SEC-best 10.9 points per 100 possessions. When she is on the court, ranked opponents are scoring 0.766 points per possession compared to 0.829 when she is on the bench. That group of teams shoots 39.7 percent when Johnson is on the court versus  43.1 percent without her, and those numbers are more dramatic from 3-point range where Johnson’s presence holds teams to just 29.3 percent when they shoot 36.4 percent when she’s off the court.

As the primary defender against the 13 other All-SEC selections she guarded, Johnson allowed just 0.663 points per possession and 32.9 percent shooting compared to the 0.811  points per possession and 44.5 percent they posted on other Gamecock defenders.

Block Party
The Gamecocks have been a premier shot blocking program since their first national championship in 2017. They ranked in the top 15 in blocks per game that season and have only climbed higher in the eight subsequent seasons, including four years leading the nation in the stat and twice coming in second. Beyond the number of blocks, their block percentage has led the nation three seasons.

This season, South Carolina is seventh in the nation with 5.9 blocks per game, including 5.1 against ranked foes and an SEC-best 6.2 per league game. The Gamecocks have blocked 14.3 percent of opponents’ 2-point attempts, which ranks 10th in the nation, per Her Hoop Stats.

Madina Okot tops the individual list with 1.5 blocks per game to rank fifth in the SEC, which includes 1.8 per league game (5th). Joyce Edwards is next at 1.1 per game to rank 15th in the league. Guards have added 2.1 blocks per game, and every Gamecock has at least two blocks.

Changes in Lat-itude
Now a four-time All-American and all-conference selection, senior guard Ta’Niya Latson has diversified her game on both sides of the ball, improving her scoring efficiency and defensive presence in her time in Columbia.

The top scorer in the nation last season, she joined South Carolina for her final college season because she knew head coach Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks had what she needed to challenge herself to expand areas of her game she was not able to hone at Florida State.

This season Latson is 16th in the SEC in scoring 14.7 points per game and eighth in field goal percentage, hitting a career-best 50.0 percent. Her 1.03 points per play and 1.17 points per scoring attempt are also at career-high levels. She is fourth in the SEC with a 2.15 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is top-25 in the nation, to go with 3.7 assists per game (13th). Defensively, she is 13th in the league with 1.8 steals per game.

In NCAA Tournament action, Latson averages 19.0 points on 55.9 percent shooting with a team-high 5.3 assists per game. In her first career Sweet 16 game, she tied the South Carolina record for free throw percentage in an NCAA Tournament game with her 10-of-10 showing. She was also perfect from long range with four 3s helping her to 28 points.

A-got Send
Freshman guard Agot Makeer was ranked sixth in the Class of 2025 and drew McDonald’s All-America and honorable mention Naismith All-America honors out of Montverde Academy (FL). .

The long, lithe Makeer is averaging 6.6 points to go along with 3.3 rebounds per game. In 13 games against ranked teams, her 5.5 points per game came on 43.5 percent shooting. In postseason action, she has added 9.3 points per game on 54.8 percent shooting while averaging 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals in her 22.5 minutes per game. Makeer is the third-leading scorer on the team in the NCAA Tournament with 13.7 points per game.