COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley confirmed her starting lineup for the first exhibition game of the 2025-26 season.
Senior point guard Raven Johnson, senior guard Ta’Niya Latson, junior guard Tessa Johnson, sophomore forward Joyce Edwards and senior center Madina Okot will be the first five on the floor when the Gamecocks host Anderson on Oct. 24 in Colonial Life Arena (7 p.m. ET).
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Latson led the nation in scoring with 25.2 points per game last year at Florida State. She’s averaged 21 or more every season of college ball.
At 6-foot-6 Okot, a Mississippi State transfer, is the tallest player Staley’s had since Kamilla Cardoso (6-7) left after the 2023-24 season.
Last year Okot averaged 11.3 points and 9.6 rebounds, which was fourth in the SEC. She increased to 10.1 rebounds per SEC game. She shot 64.9% from the field, which finished fourth in the nation.
Raven Johnson started every game last year and averaged 4.9 points and 4.5 rebounds as a guard.
Tessa Johnson came off the bench and averaged 8.4 points, shooting a team-best 43% from the 3-point line.
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Edwards led the team in scoring as a freshman. She averaged 12.7 points off the bench.
Dawn Staley sets expectations for exhibition game
This is the first of two exhibition games where Staley gets to see what her team can do before it counts in the record books. The second game is Oct. 30 against North Carolina in Atlanta.
“My expectation is to really play like you’ve been coached,” Staley said Oct. 23. “Play like you’ve been practicing, … it takes a while to make that transition of having a little of bit people in the gym versus a lot of people in the gym, and you want to please them. I just want us to get on track to play the way we need to as a cohesive unit.”
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From her two freshmen specifically, she just wants Ayla McDowell and Agot Makeer to be themselves.
“I don’t want to put pressure on them, I think they put enough pressure on themselves,” Staley said. “They’re talented, super talented. They are confident, they’ve been holding their own. Not very many instances where they look like freshmen.”
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dawn Staley reveals South Carolina starters ahead of first exhibition
