South Carolina women's basketball: Ten fearless predictions for the season

Each year, I make a series of South Carolina women’s basketball predictions for the upcoming season. Some might seem obvious, some might seem foolish. In March, we’ll revisit them and see how I did.

1. South Carolina wins the SEC

This isn’t going out on a limb at all. South Carolina always wins the SEC. The lone loss last season at Texas looks like a fluke since South Carolina blew out Texas the other three times they played.

South Carolina also has a favorable schedule. It gets Texas, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt at home, and the toughest road games are at LSU and Oklahoma. Drawing rebuilding Alabama as the home-and-home opponent also helps. LSU and Texas playing twice is an extra bonus – either they split and both end up with a loss, or it’s a sweep and the loser is knocked out of contention.

2. Ta’Niya Latson wins SEC Player of the Year

I was surprised that Latson was only a second-team preseason All-SEC. It’s just another reminder of how far off the radar Florida State women’s basketball is. 

Latson was, literally, the best scorer in the country last year. She had talented teammates, but not like she’ll have this season. Plus, she’ll be competing for championships. Latson said in July that her goal is to win SEC Player of the Year. She’ll do it.

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3. LSU breaks its losing streak against South Carolina

The Tigers almost did it two seasons ago in Baton Rouge, but Big Shot Breezy Hall had other ideas. The situation is perfect this season: a rare Saturday night game, a national TV audience, and the exes seeing each other on Valentine’s Day.

MiLaysia Fulwiley is good at revenge games – ask North Carolina – and she is going to be hyper-focused on making sure she wins the breakup.

4. Ta’Niya Latson becomes the first Gamecock since A’ja Wilson to average 20 points

Latson averaged 25.2 points last season. She averages 22.5 points for her career and has averaged at least 21 points in every season. 

Dawn Staley prefers balanced scoring, so Latson’s average is going to take a dip. But losing Chloe Kitts for the season means some of that balanced scoring is going to shift back to Latson, and there will be times that the Gamecocks will have to simply let her cook.

Wilson averaged 22.6 points in 2017-18, the only time in the Staley Era that a player has averaged 18.0 points or more. Wilson and Jocelyn Penn (23.9 in 2002-03) are the only Gamecocks in the 21st century who averaged over 20 points.

5. South Carolina extends its Final Four streak

Making a sixth consecutive Final Four appearance would break the current tie and give the Gamecocks sole possession of the second-longest streak ever. Without Kitts, South Carolina loses its margin for error. But the Gamecocks were in a similar situation last season and played for the championship. 

The streak is going to end sometime, but I’m not going to be the one to predict it.

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6. The Gamecocks split in Vegas

I don’t have any particular reason, especially since we don’t know who they will play on Thanksgiving Day. It’s just a gut feeling.

7. Agot Makeer becomes a fan favorite

I’m still not sure if Makeer is completely ready for high-level college basketball or to play 20 minutes a game, but I’ve seen enough to know that she is good. Really good. The fans are going to love her.

The defense. The three-point shooting. The creativity. It’s all there. Makeer doesn’t just make positive plays; they are exciting plays. Makeer will be the one who creates a buzz in the arena when she checks in.

8. Maddy McDaniel averages more points than Raven Johnson

Raven Johnson says she worked on her offense in the offseason, but it’s not her nature to look for her own shot.

There are many things McDaniel does well, but above all, she can get downhill and score at the rim. Staley wants to expand McDaniel’s game this season, but because South Carolina doesn’t have a lot of scoring punch off the bench, the Gamecocks need Mouse to do what she does best.

The result is that McDaniel scores more than Johnson.

9. Raven Johnson finishes fourth in career assists

Johnson is currently 10th on South Carolina’s career assists record with 410. Monday Ballou is third with 595, and Martha Parker is fourth with 543. That means Johnson needs to dish out at least 134 but no more than 184 assists this season to finish fourth. 

In her previous three seasons, Johnson had 123, 179, and 108 assists. If all Johnson does is hit her career average of 3.7, she should have around 140 assists. That’s already enough, but if she returns to her 2024 form, which I think she will, it will be more.

Either way, she ends her career in fourth place.

10. Joyce Edwards makes first-team All-SEC and somebody makes second-team

Edwards was first-team All-SEC last season and this preseason, so I’m just going with the status quo for her. That will give South Carolina two first-teamers with Edwards and Latson.

Somebody is also going to make the second-team All-SEC, and I’m pretty sure it will be Tessa Johnson or Madina Okot. 

Johnson is a career 43% three-point shooter who is going to get even more attempts this season. She’s also going to have added defensive responsibilities. The Gamecocks are raving about Okot’s progress in the offseason, and if she improves on her near double-double from last season, that could be enough.

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