South Carolina women's basketball: Raven Johnson embraces expectations for her senior season

Following the national championship game on April 6, 2025, Johnson stood in South Carolina’s locker room answering questions. Most were about what had gone wrong in the loss to UConn, but some were about Johnson’s future.
Johnson had redshirted her freshman year following a torn ACL, so even though she had finished her fourth year and walked on senior day, she had the option of returning for a fifth season. Throughout the tournament, Johnson said she would not announce her plans until the season was over.
It was over, but Johnson still passed, saying it wasn’t the right time to talk about it. I rephrased the question, asking if the bad taste of the championship game loss made her want to come back so she could go out on top.
Johnson had already told me privately that her best friend, Ta’Niya Latson, would be transferring to South Carolina and implied that she was coming back so they could play together. She knew I knew, but didn’t want to go public, so Johnson flashed that trademark smile and said, “Maybe.”
That loss in Tampa was likely the low point of a disappointing season for Johnson. She got off to a slow start, shooting 0-8 in the season opener against Michigan. In the first eight games of the season, Johnson shot just 11-51 (21.6%) and was 0-13 from three.
She broke out of that slump in December and was eventually named to the SEC All-Defensive team, but Johnson’s numbers were down across the board. In 2023-24, Johnson averaged 8.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.1 steals. She shot 44.3% overall and 35.0% from three.
In 2024-25, it dropped to 4.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 steals. She shot just 35.0% and 29.5% from three.
With about a month to go before she starts her final season at South Carolina, those struggles are a distant memory. Having Latson by her side again has brought Johnson renewed joy. They click both on and off the court in a way she didn’t have last season.
“Oh, it’s amazing. It’s wonderful. I just read her,” Johnson said. “I love her and I’m glad she’s here.”
Johnson spent the offseason working on her individual offense. She is well aware that in her best shooting season, the Gamecocks went undefeated. In her other two seasons, they came up short in part because she couldn’t keep defenses honest.
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“I’m about to put the ball in the basket,” she said. “I think this off-season, I was very much focused on details, on scoring, really, (and) being consistent. I’m looking for myself a little bit. I feel like if I look for myself a little bit more, it will open up others. So working on my shot. If people sag off me, I’m ready to knock the shot down. So just looking at things like that, but really just focusing on scoring.”
Dawn Staley hopes Johnson follows in the footsteps of Tyasha Harris. Like Johnson, for three seasons, Harris was an inconsistent scorer and not particularly vocal. Then, as a senior on the 2019-20 team, Harris took over the leadership role and became a scoring threat.
“It’s important for our point guards to have a voice on our teams,” Staley said. “Raven in her last season, she’s been in the gym. She’s been working. And not only do we need her voice, we need her example, of how to play the position and how to run our basketball team. She’s giving it her best shot. I think she’s probably in the best, probably physical, mental, just complete (shape). We’d like for her to have gotten here a little sooner, but that’s her process. But we need her the most, the way she is right now, for our team this year.”
Johnson has embraced Staley’s expectations because she knows she won’t get another chance to go out a winner.
“I feel a lot different, honestly,” Johnson said. “I’m very excited about my progression, what I’m seeing from myself. I’ve put in a lot of work this summer, and it’s showing. I’m very excited for me and the team.”
South Carolina has made five consecutive Final Fours, tied for the second-longest streak in NCAA history. Johnson has never known a South Carolina season that ended before the final weekend. Johnson has told me she doesn’t count the 2022 championship because she was injured, but technically, she still has a chance to become the first Gamecock to win three championships.
“It’s very important,” Johnson said. “I mean, that’s the goal, to get back to the national championship, and it’s very hard to get back there. So that’s what we’re doing in the summer and the preseason. This preseason was very hard for us. The stuff we did is gonna prepare us for March Madness.”