Bridgette Gordon is entering her third season as the head women’s basketball coach at Florida A&M.
And she is enthused and optimistic.
After two seasons of leading the Rattlers to their only Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament appearances, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer is ready for the program to take the next step under her leadership.
Advertisement
“Just super excited in year three,” Gordon said on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at the Southwestern Athletic Conference Media Day.
“We’re healthy, competing, and coming off a great summer. I’m just loving this team from the character, culture, and sisterhood. It’s just a matter of them gelling together with so many new pieces.”
Bridgette Gordon, USA Today Studio IX Trailblazer Award recipient, and guest speaker Dee Strange-Gordon, former Major League Baseball All-Star, at the 2025 Volusia-Flagler High School Sports Awards at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach.
FAMU women’s basketball opens its 2025-2026 season across the railroad tracks at Florida State on Nov. 3. The Rattlers’ home opener is set for Nov. 15 versus Samford.
FAMU’s remaining non-conference slate includes Howard (Nov. 8), Georgia Mason (Nov. 10/away), Central Florida (Nov. 21/away), Mercer (Nov. 25/away), South Alabama (Nov. 30/away), Jacksonville (Dec. 2/home), Florida (Dec. 17/away), West Georgia (Dec. 21/home), and an exhibition game versus Southeastern (Dec. 29/home).
Advertisement
Following the Rattlers’ 9-21 record and 6-12 mark in the SWAC last year, league voters picked FAMU to finish eighth out of the 12 teams in 2025.
“Hopefully we’re going to be ready, with this non-conference schedule, to compete for a conference and tournament title in the SWAC,” Gordon said.
FAMU didn’t get any individual preseason All-SWAC honorees.
However, the FAMU coach says the underrated Rattlers will specialize in “size,” “length,” and a “Dawg Mentality.”
The Rattlers have a 15-woman roster with just three being returnees. Gordon had the autonomy to recruit every member of this year’s FAMU women’s basketball roster.
Advertisement
Point guards Cornelia Bussey and Jordan Bussie, and Breazia Robinson are the standout newcomers, says Gordon. The top returning players are point guard Tahnyjia Purifoy and 6-foot-6 center Zikeyah Ransom-Carter.
“When you talk about the key positions, it’ll be the PG and our center,” Gordon said.
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU basketball’s Bridgette Gordon to lean on guards, centers in 2025
